Novartis, MIT to overhaul manufacturing

Novartis is teaming up with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to develop new ways to manufacture drugs. The pharma giant, whose global headquarters for drug research is based in Cambridge near MIT, will give the university $65 million over 10 years to create a new research program.

The aim is to move away from manufacturing drugs batch by batch, and toward continuous processes that would save both time and money. It won't be an easy task: There are plenty of reasons why drug makers haven't taken the Henry Ford route to manufacturing before. But it's one of MIT's largest collaborations with industry, ever. We'll see what the great minds can do.

- see the press release
- read the Boston Globe article