Teesside University has announced a new innovation partnership with CPI.
The three-year biosciences agreement will enable the partners to strengthen the sector in the North East, share facilities and collaborate on new research projects.
It is hoped the agreement will further strengthen the educational offering of Teesside University and improve local employment opportunities.
Dr Muhammad Safwan Akram, senior lecturer in biologics and process engineering, said: “Having close ties with CPI has allowed us to focus more on the real-world problems faced by the industry.
“I am supervising two higher degree apprenticeship students in biological sciences at CPI who are looking at finding cost-effective ways of manufacturing biologicals, particularly monoclonal antibodies.”
You might also like: Warwick University hosts future female engineers
Teesside already has some specific agreements with CPI, including the on-going THYME project, which is developing augmented reality and virtual reality training tools for bioprocess operator training.
Prof Gary Montague, professor of bioprocessing at Teesside, said: “Teesside University worked alongside CPI Biologics in the recently completed the £11.2M Biostreamline project where their collaboration resulted in developing a decision-making tool for early stage monoclonal antibody development.”
The university recently opened its £22.3m National Horizons Centre (NHC), a flagship research, teaching and training facility for the biosciences.
By working more strategically in partnership with Teesside University we can accelerate the provision of the knowledge and infrastructure that attracts, supports and grows companies.
– Nigel Perry, CPI
CPI is a founding member of the government’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult and works to bridge the gap between researchers and those in industry who can successfully market new innovations.
Nigel Perry, chief executive of CPI, said: “By working more strategically in partnership with Teesside University we can accelerate the provision of the knowledge and infrastructure that attracts, supports and grows companies and which helps to provide new jobs and new products for the UK.”