PharmaSource Podcast

Link to the CDMO News Analysis download: CDMO News Analysis Tracker “CMC topics are often taken a bit late in development. The biggest pitfall is not only it’s going to cost you more, but it’s going to cause delays to your programme. The more you push it, the bigger are the costs and potentially the delays.” Marine Joly-Battaglini , CMC consultant and founder of PharmDev, specialises in CMC regula...

“The greatest opportunity at Teva is our innovative pipeline. We’re really leaning in on our innovative pipeline as an integral part of our pivot to growth strategy.” This is the ambitious vision of Dr Eric Hughes, Executive Vice President of Global R&D and Chief Medical Officer at Teva Pharmaceuticals. He speaks about the company’s strategic transformation from generics powerhouse to innovati...

“We need to strive to be an easy client. Being an easy client with clear goals and internal alignment is key for successful long-term relationships with CMOs. Equally important is how we manage internally – how we align internally and bring that one message to the CMOs.” Felipe Furiati , Senior Director External Supply Operations at Grünenthal, manages external supply operations across a €2 billio...

"We are seeing a doubling or tripling of applications from the United States. You can really feel that shift already. People have been offered jobs and professorships and are already here in Heidelberg." Dr. Julia Schaft , Managing Director at BioRN Cluster Management GmbH, reveals the significant increase in American scientists exploring opportunities in Germany's Rhine-Neckar biote...

HHS Secretary’s unprecedented move to terminate 22 federal mRNA contracts sends shockwaves through biotech sector and raises critical questions about U.S. pandemic preparedness The pharmaceutical industry woke up to a fundamentally altered landscape this week as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the termination of $500 million in federal funding for mRNA vaccine d...

"When you are seeing great results in your research lab, you think that everything has been done. But then when you try to humanise your drug, a new adventure starts, because the CMC process is very difficult. In my opinion, it's as difficult as demonstrating efficacy." - Mari Carmen Álvarez Mari Carmen Álvarez PhD. is the Managing Director of Tetraneuron, a pioneering Spanish biotech developing n...

“From Tokyo to Boston, we knew people had to see and feel the future we were building together. That is how you create lasting change.” Amber Meriwether , Director of Corporate Strategy at Astellas Pharma, has orchestrated one of the industry’s most dramatic supplier rationalisations whilst navigating complex cultural dynamics across seven global locations. In the latest PharmaSource podcast episo...

"Current revenue scale is $1.3 billion. We anticipate it will grow to $5 billion, just in five years' time. We've committed to invest about two-thirds of Fujifilm's entire annual capex in this business." Toshihisa “Toshi” Iida , Chairman of FUJIFILM Biotechnologies Group and Board Director at FUJIFILM Corporation, reveals how 89 years of healthcare heritage drives the company's ambitious CDMO expa...

A panel of M&A advisors and consultants at CDMO Live 2025 explored how private equity investment has transformed the contract manufacturing sector, whilst examining current challenges from geopolitical uncertainty to market volatility. The session, sponsored by TH Healthcare & Life Sciences, featured Kurt Nielsen (Managing Partner, Longview Leader LLC), Dirk Beyer (Managing Director, Raymo...

The biologics external manufacturing panel at CDMO Live 2025, sponsored by BSP Pharmaceuticals, brought together industry leaders to tackle the key challenges in scaling biological manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions, capacity constraints and evolving partnership models. The panel featured Olaf Birkenmeier, Head of External Manufacturing at Polpharma Biologics; Julien Laizé, Director of Exter...

Joshi Venugopal, SVP and Head of Region for Novartis Gene Therapies, outlined three critical inflection points that will determine whether cell and gene therapy reaches its full potential at CDMO Live 2025 The cell and gene therapy industry finds itself squarely in the middle of a classic Gartner hype cycle, according to Novartis gene therapy chief Joshi Venugopal. Speaking at CDMO Live 2025, Venu...

At CDMO Live 2025, industry leaders Elisabeth Stampa (Medicines for Europe), Elena Barboni (Flamma) and Agneta Larhed (RegSmart Life Science) discussed how Europe's stringent new regulations could reshape the continent's pharmaceutical manufacturing landscape. Europe's pharmaceutical manufacturing sector faces an unprecedented challenge as new environmental regulations threaten to driv...

“When you’re building something at the edge of science, it’s crucial to start with the problem, not the solution. My team has created 15 pharma startups using this approach, and 14 are still alive.” –  Kerstin Papenfuss , Director of Pharma at Deep Science Ventures Kerstin Papenfuss serves as the Director of Pharma at Deep Science Ventures, where she leads the creation and development of novel the...

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated how pharmaceutical manufacturing timelines can be dramatically compressed while maintaining quality. At CDMO Live 2025, Fabrice Le Garrec shared lessons from the Lonza-Moderna vaccine scale-up, where "timeline meant lives." Here are his "10 Commandments" for fast-tracking emergency drug manufacturing. Dpwnload the full CDMO Live 2025 Report

Simon Kucher opened  CDMO Live 2025  in Rotterdam by unveiling brand new research developed in partnership with PharmaSource. The comprehensive study, presented by  Kaan-Fabian Kekec  and  Clarita Simon , mapped the evolving landscape of CDMO-sponsor partnerships based on insights from over 100 industry experts. Read more

CDMO Live 2025, a panel sponsored by Lifecore Biomedical brought together industry quality leaders to discuss how quality management can become a strategic enabler rather than a compliance burden. The panel featured Jackie Klecker (EVP Quality & Development Services, Lifecore Biomedical), Liesbeth Foesters (VP Head of External & Clinical Supply Quality, UCB), Stefan Bouckaert (Vice Preside...

“We invest to meet the needs of the customer. What’s driving these investments are really the customer partnerships that we’re building to make these happen,” explains  Arul Ramadurai, Chief Commercial Officer at Axplora. Axplora, a global leader in API small molecule and ADC manufacturing, was formed through the merger of Farmabios, Novasep, and PharmaZell. With 2,400 employees across ten API man...

At CDMO Live 2025, a panel sponsored by Aizon explored how pharma companies are transforming external manufacturing operations through digital integration, with experts from sharing practical approaches to implementation. The Digital Divide: Big Pharma vs Mid-Size Players The panellists painted a stark contrast in digital maturity across the pharmaceutical manufacturing landscape. Dave O'Gara,...

“Know your supply chain. Make sure you have it well mapped. The biggest thing that we’ve seen coming out of COVID was investments in technology – that’s what’s helping manufacturers respond to the unexpected.” Ryan Kelly , Senior Director of Supply Chain Security and Brand Protection at Rx-360, delivered this stark assessment of pharmaceutical supply chain management during a live podcast recordin...

"There are not that many European CDMOs with commercial expertise in cell therapy - who understand the regulatory requirements and production challenges when you have to manufacture large quantities on a regular basis. This is why we ended up with a very short list of two or three potential suppliers." CellProthera's recent announcement of its manufacturing partnership with SEQENS fo...

“My ambition for being a CDMO is that there will always be technical challenges, but I want to be transparent about the challenge and provide options to a customer.” Hanns-Christian Mahler , CEO of ten23 health, brings 15 years of sponsor-side experience to his current role leading a sterile product CDMO focused on drug product development, manufacturing and testing. His unique perspective from bo...

Leaders from the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative (PSCI) and Manufacture 2030 outlined the mounting pressure on contract manufacturers to address sustainability at CDMO Live 2025, with major pharma companies now making emissions reduction a prerequisite for business relationships. The Climate-Healthcare Connection Rob Williams, Senior Director of Sustainable Procurement at AstraZeneca and Ch...

“Nobody knows exactly what will happen, so making yourself anxious about unknowns doesn’t help. You must be prepared for multiple scenarios, ready and flexible to react quickly when changes do occur.” Maik Talarczyk, Director of PMO Office and Strategy in External Manufacturing Operations at Sandoz , brings extensive expertise in managing external manufacturing relationships and strategic operatio...

CDMO Live 2025 Highlights: How Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Leo Pharma are rebuilding manufacturing strategies Complexity Challenge: With thousands of SKUs to manage (Bayer handles 5,000+, half outsourced), companies struggle with aging portfolios and aggressive commercial expansion. Geopolitical Reshuffling: A staggering 62% of pharma companies are restructuring their manufacturing footprints...

Gil Roth, president of the Pharma and Biopharma Outsourcing Association (PBOA), delivered a stark assessment of the uncertain regulatory and trade environment facing US drug manufacturers under Donald Trump's administration at CDMO Live 2025. In a presentation characterised by its unflinching candour, Roth outlined the key challenges confronting contract manufacturers, from rapidly changing ta...