Introduction
CPI is a UK-based technology and innovation centre committed to transforming ideas into market-ready products. As part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, CPI provides access to world-class expertise, facilities and networks fostering innovation across industries such as pharmaceuticals, food and feed, energy and health tech. At CPI’s National Formulation Centre, their automation and digital team leverages state-of-the-art robotic and digital technologies to drive rapid innovation in product development, reducing risks to support a more sustainable society.
The launch of the Innovate UK-funded Intracellular Drug Delivery Centre of Excellence sparked CPI’s need for an advanced automated platform for preparing and characterising lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) and other nanoparticulate drug delivery systems.
CPI’s decade-long relationship with Labman has been built on trust and success across multiple projects. For this venture, the integration of complex devices, custom software design, and rigorous safety protocols was paramount.
The project’s ultimate goal was to create an end-to-end workflow for LNP preparation and testing. Budgetary and complexity constraints led to a proof-of-concept workflow instead, showcasing the platform’s flexibility and potential for future scalability.
Labman’s interactive training program empowered the CPI team, covering everything from simple workflows to advanced integrations. From robust technical solutions to delightful culinary surprises like grape focaccia, baked by Labman’s software lead for this project, Olly Young, Labman’s commitment to fostering a positive working relationship left a lasting impression.
Shaping the Future of Automation
Lynn envisions mobile robotic platforms revolutionising lab operations. They bring a new level of flexibility, allowing rapid reconfiguration and expansion of workflows to suit changing business need, as well as the potential to work alongside lab scientists. As a neutral facility/partner, CPI is the ideal place to showcase this new technology and way of working.
CPI are currently working with Labman to deliver two large scale automation projects – a state-of-the-art coating system with will primarily support their customers in the batteries sector and an automated rheology platform. The mobile robot and digital infrastructure will link these platforms to CPI’s existing Labman Formulation platform, enabling sample transport between the systems and ultimately a closed loop process for optimisation of formulated products.
CPI’s work with Labman highlights the impact of collaboration and innovation. With flexible automation systems, CPI is leading the way toward a more sustainable and efficient future in product development.