As global competition intensifies across life sciences and advanced manufacturing, international collaboration is becoming increasingly important to strengthening UK innovation, supply chains, and economic resilience.

Through strategic partnerships with India – one of the world’s fastest-growing life sciences markets – CPI is helping UK companies access new commercial opportunities, accelerate innovation, and build international relationships that support long-term growth, while ensuring high-value innovation activity remains anchored in the UK.

This work spans industry engagement, collaborative innovation programmes, and government-backed partnerships designed to strengthen the UK’s position as a global hub for advanced manufacturing and pharmaceutical innovation.

UK–India SME delegation: Opening global partnerships for UK innovators

In February 2026, CPI led a UK delegation of 20 high-potential biomanufacturing and pharmaceutical SMEs to India. Delivered in partnership with the British High Commission in India, the programme was designed to create tangible export opportunities for UK companies while positioning the UK as a partner of choice for global collaboration.

The visit provided SMEs with direct access to Indian industry leaders, research organisations, and government stakeholders through targeted meetings, site visits, and participation in major industry events. Engagements with organisations such as IKP Knowledge Park in Hyderabad enabled deeper scientific exchange and opened routes into India’s innovation ecosystem.

India represents a significant commercial opportunity for UK businesses. As a global leader in pharmaceutical manufacturing, producing more than 60% of the world’s vaccines and supplying around a quarter of medicines used in the UK, it offers both a route to scale and a critical partner in strengthening supply chains.

For participating SMEs, the programme created a platform to explore collaboration, understand market dynamics, and build relationships that support international growth while maintaining a strong foundation of innovation within the UK.

CPI’s role is to help ensure that while companies may access global markets, high-value activities such as innovation, design, and intellectual property remain anchored in the UK, supporting long term economic growth.

The Living Lab: Accelerating innovation through UK–India collaboration

A key outcome of CPI’s work with India is the development of a pioneering “Living Lab” in partnership with CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory. This initiative is designed to accelerate the development and scale-up of sustainable pharmaceutical manufacturing processes.

Supported by both UK and Indian government funding, the Living Lab provides a real-world environment where companies can test and refine new approaches, helping to reduce the technical and commercial risks associated with scaling innovation.

By combining UK expertise with international collaboration, the model enables faster progress from development to deployment, particularly in areas such as process efficiency and emissions reduction. It also demonstrates how joint initiatives can translate policy ambition into practical, industry-led outcomes.

Strengthening UK capability and the High Value Manufacturing Catapult opportunity

CPI’s work in India sits within a broader strategic framework, encompassing the UK–India Vision 2035, the Technology Security Initiative, and the UK–India Net Zero Innovation Partnership. Together, these initiatives are designed to strengthen supply chains, drive innovation, and enhance economic resilience across both nations.

As part of the High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult, CPI plays a central role in ensuring these international partnerships deliver direct benefits to the UK economy.

This includes:

• Driving exports by helping UK companies access high-growth international markets.

• Attracting inward investment into UK facilities, capabilities, and talent.

• Strengthening domestic supply chains through global collaboration.

• Positioning the UK as a hub for advanced manufacturing and life sciences innovation.

These activities are not about moving capability overseas. Instead, they’re about expanding the reach of UK innovation, enabling companies to scale globally while keeping the most valuable parts of the value chain – R&D, intellectual property, and high-skilled jobs – firmly in the UK.

Through the HVM Catapult network, this approach creates a multiplier effect: international partnerships bring new investment, new markets, and new collaborations back into the UK ecosystem, reinforcing national capability and competitiveness.

As global demand for advanced manufacturing and life sciences innovation continues to grow, CPI’s international partnerships will play an increasingly important role in ensuring the UK remains globally connected, commercially competitive, and economically resilient.