On Wednesday 11th June 2025, Lord Vallance, Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation, opened the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult’s (CGT Catapult) Digital and Automation Testbeds. This facility has been delivered in part thanks to £2.75 million Government funding through Innovate UK.
The opening brought together Government stakeholders and advanced therapy industry leaders to discuss how to accelerate the adoption of new technologies including how collaboration, such as in these testbeds, can help achieve this. With demand for these therapies increasing, the testbeds will support the advanced therapy industry to improve manufacturing processes, making them more efficient, scalable and cost-effective. This aims to ensure that patients can access the therapies they need.
The testbeds are among the first facilities anywhere in the world that have been specifically designed to accelerate step-changes in the productivity of cell and gene therapy manufacturing. They will achieve this through providing space that enables collaborative working and access to automation, digital, and robotic technologies. They mirror Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards, to ensure that the processes developed can be rapidly deployed into facilities producing therapies for clinical trials and commercial use.
These new Testbeds will be a valuable resource for the UK’s advanced therapeutics innovators and inventors, helping them to scale-up the manufacturing of breakthrough treatments that could change and save lives.
Lord Vallance, Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation
Cell and gene therapies have the potential to overhaul what is possible in healthcare, while developing and producing them is a significant opportunity for business. This is another example of why the Government is determined to back our £108 billion life sciences sector – which will form a key part of our forthcoming modern Industrial Strategy.
Digital and automation technologies have potential to provide the advanced therapy industry with scalable manufacturing which produces therapies more cost-effectively, and increases productivity. While adopting these technologies in highly-regulated facilities is complex, it is vital to ensure the industry keeps pace with rising demand and as many patients as possible benefit from these life-changing therapies. The ongoing support we receive from Government enables us to work with industry to accelerate this transition.
Matthew Durdy, Chief Executive of the CGT Catapult