Founded in 2007 by Professor Emeritus Kieran Hodnett, the Synthesis and Solid State Pharmaceutical cluster was funded for 5 years, with a total budget of €6M from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). SSPC grew and established itself as an international brand offering expertise in additional areas. In addition, APC Ltd., a massive success story became a spin-out company from University College Dublin by Professor Brian Glennon and Dr Mark Barrett.

Following extensive consultations, an application was made to become a Centre that focused on the entire pharmaceutical production chain from the synthesis of the molecule to the isolation of the material and the formulation of the medicine, delivered over three strands including spokes project awards. The full Centre proposal was submitted on September, 9, 2012 and the Centre was up and running by June 2013, for 6 years and a total budget of €40M from SFI. The full Centre proposal was submitted on September, 9, 2012 and the Centre was up and running by June 2013. In terms of impact, SSPC as a centre since has accumulated 604 journal publications. 

Now in it’s second iteration, SSPC was funded in 2019, with a total budget of €61M. Having expanded into manufacturing and modelling. SSPC is recognised internationally as a hub of process innovation and advanced manufacturing for the Pharmaceutical Sector. We have demonstrated capabilities in the design and implementation of flow chemistry, asymmetric synthesis, fundamental and applied aspects of pharmaceutical crystallization, amorphous materials, continuous processing, novel pharmaceutical solid forms and emerging pharmaceutical technologies. SSPC graduates hold established positions in academia and industry around the world reflecting the true impact of the Centre. SSPC alumni, possessing a broad understanding of pharmaceutical research, development and manufacturing in addition to an in-depth specialist knowledge in a technical area relevant to the sector, are highly sought after globally. Our successful inter-industry collaborations have worked because of the input from the expertise within our academic and industry partners.

The research carried out by SSPC crosses the pharmaceutical production chain from molecule to medicine, with the objective of gaining a better understanding of mechanisms, controlling processes, and predicting outcomes for the efficient and environmentally sustainable production of safe medicines.

The Centre has a broad research capability that encompasses scientific expertise focusing on green pharma, small and large molecule drug substance and drug product manufacturing, and health, with a particular emphasis on process optimisation, data analytics and ATMPs.