The peptide therapeutics market is expanding rapidly, driven by the success of GLP-1 agonists and a pipeline of more than 1,000 peptides currently in development. As manufacturers significantly scale up production, sustainability is becoming a critical factor influencing cost, regulatory expectations and long-term operational resilience.

Minviro, a global leader in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), is working with Origin Peptides to build an early-stage sustainability model for their novel aqueous-templated peptide synthesis technology. Rather than representing final or verified outcomes, this work marks the beginning of a long-term collaboration designed to integrate robust sustainability thinking into Origin Peptides' development and commercialisation roadmap.

This initial collaboration establishes a shared foundation from which both teams will continue refining insights as new data, scale-up performance and process innovations emerge, providing a platform for Origin Peptides' customers to make data-driven sustainability and cost-management decisions for their green peptide manufacturing processes.

Study objectives

The primary goal of this project was not to produce definitive sustainability results, but to develop a flexible, scalable modelling framework that Origin Peptides can use to understand and improve the environmental profile of their technology as it evolves.

Minviro worked closely with Origin Peptides to structure complex process and supply-chain data into a coherent modelling workflow, build an adaptable baseline model suitable for early-stage decision support, and equip Origin Peptides with a tool they can expand as their technology advances toward commercial deployment.

"This project demonstrates how early-stage LCA modelling can guide innovation without overclaiming outcomes. By building a living model in XYCLE, we're helping Origin Peptides embed sustainability into their development pathway from the very beginning."
— Dr Jordan Lindsay, Customer Success Manager, Minviro

Methodology

At the centre of the project is XYCLE, Minviro's LCA software, which will serve as the cornerstone of Origin Peptides' sustainability work moving forward. XYCLE is widely used across sectors including manufacturing, chemicals and critical material supply chains, and has now been adapted to the unique requirements of peptide synthesis.

To support this early-stage assessment, Minviro integrated industry-standard LCA databases to populate inputs such as amino acids, reagents and regional energy mixes; developed a workflow that Origin Peptides can continue to update, iterate and expand internally as new data becomes available; and designed the model so it can be easily adapted across scales, peptide types and geographies.

The model currently reflects laboratory-scale conditions and will evolve as the technology advances. As additional process data becomes available, XYCLE will act as Origin Peptides' operational tool for scenario analysis, supplier evaluation and sustainability-informed technical decision-making. Future enhancements may include modelling delivery modalities, injectable, intravenous or oral, to enable comparison across therapeutic formats as the technology matures.

Environmental learnings to date

Because this assessment is based on laboratory-scale data, model assumptions and early-stage process information, all insights here should be considered preliminary, directional and intended for internal development guidance rather than formal environmental performance claims. These findings will evolve as additional empirical data becomes available and as the technology progresses toward commercial scale.

Within the defined system boundaries and assumptions for this phase, the model identifies several factors that may affect the sustainability profile of Origin Peptides' process. The modelled technology shows significant sustainability improvements over competitive technologies, and specific areas for continuous improvement, in energy and material consumption, have been identified for the scale-up process.

Any directional indications relating to how the process may compare with conventional methods or industry norms should not be interpreted as verified comparative claims. They instead serve as early signals to guide future data collection, scenario evaluation and process optimisation.

Strategic value

Rather than a one-off study, this project sets Origin Peptides up with a sustainability infrastructure they can evolve over time. By embedding XYCLE into their workflows, Origin Peptides is now positioned to assess the sustainability implications of process changes quickly and reliably, evaluate alternative suppliers and materials through a structured lens, compare future manufacturing routes and scale-up scenarios, integrate sustainability directly into R&D, engineering and commercial decision-making, and provide its customers with a well-defined process for data-driven sustainability decisions.

Minviro's customer success team will continue to support Origin with model refinement, scenario building and ongoing collaboration, ensuring sustainability remains a core performance metric alongside speed, cost and quality.

"The model produced by Minviro is phenomenal in terms of its detail and flexibility for future investigations. The insights clearly pinpoint the potential sustainability advantages of our technology, and where we can focus our efforts for continuous improvement. The model's flexibility ensures that as we grow and develop our technology we can continuously measure our sustainability impacts and make decisions to mitigate or eliminate those impacts."
— Dr Sara ten Have, Chief Scientific Officer, Inventor and Founder, Origin Peptides

Building a foundation for sustainable decision-making

This early-stage analysis suggests that Origin Peptides' approach could offer material sustainability improvements in peptide synthesis. These indicative findings are consistent with the company's internal modelling, which indicates improvements in cost, speed and environmental performance relative to typical industry practice. Further work would be required to support any ISO-compliant comparative claims.

This assessment represents the first phase of a growing collaboration between Minviro and Origin Peptides. As the technology scales and new data becomes available, the sustainability model will be refined, expanded and increasingly integrated into day-to-day technical and strategic decision-making.

Together, Minviro and Origin Peptides are laying the groundwork for a long-term approach to sustainable peptide manufacturing, one that evolves with the science and supports both competitiveness and environmental stewardship. The goal at Origin Peptides is to accelerate the development of the novel technology to commercial readiness as rapidly as possible.

Origin Peptides would like to thank the team at Minviro for their work on this foundational model and acknowledge the support of Scottish Enterprise through their Low Carbon Manufacturing Challenge Fund.