PharmaSource Podcast

Joerg Ahlgrimm brings over two decades of experience in pharmaceutical manufacturing and operations to his role as Chief Executive Officer at SK pharmteco. His distinguished career includes leadership positions at Schering, Baxter, and Lonza, where he managed 35 facilities during a period of unprecedented growth. He was one of the founding members of the Center for Breakthrough Medicines (CBM), wh...

"In underserved markets, there's always a challenge of reaching patients due to political and economic pressures. Through smart packaging, logistics, and distribution, we're committed to providing healthcare solutions across our network of more than 100 distributors," says Samir El Nasharty , Chief Operations Officer at Acino. Samir El Nasharty leads an experienced global team of over 1,000 Tech O...

“The GLP-1 agonist market is seeing unprecedented growth, and we’re investing €900 million to capture a fair amount of that business,” says  Dr Mimoun Ayoub , Senior VP and Global Head of Sales at CordenPharma, outlining the CDMO’s most ambitious expansion plan to date in response to surging demand for peptide manufacturing. Dr Mimoun Ayoub serves as Senior VP and Global Head of Sales and Key Acco...

“The industry is back, and we’re uniquely positioned to provide end-to-end services, including clinical trials. That’s what we mean by CDMO plus CRO – it’s a complete 360-degree set of operations,” says  Dr. Anil Kane , Executive Director and Global Head of Technical & Scientific Affairs at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Dr. Kane leads Thermo Fisher’s technical and scientific initiatives, bringing...

“Customer centricity is something that is lacking in our industry, and we knew we could do it differently,” says Adragos Pharma CCO  Henny Zijlstra , discussing the company’s mission to transform pharmaceutical contract manufacturing. Henny Zijlstra serves as Chief Commercial Officer at Adragos Pharma, a rapidly expanding contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) headquartered in...

“Building relationships and transparent communication are key to successful outsourcing in cell therapy manufacturing,” says  Jessica Brantley , Senior Manager of External Manufacturing at Sonoma Biotherapeutics. Jessica Brantley , Senior Manager of External Manufacturing at Sonoma Biotherapeutics, brings a wealth of experience from her roles at Novartis and a decade at Fujifilm Diosynth. Her expe...

Quality, Integration, and Culture: Key Lessons in CDMO Selection from Firelli Alonso Firelli Alonso , former Senior Director of External Manufacturing at Pfizer, brings over two decades of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. With a PhD in molecular virology, she has spearheaded viral vaccine development and headed Pfizer’s pre-commercial outsourcing group, focusing on biologics manufacturin...

“Our job is to add value, rather than sell stuff and make money.” –  David Anchell , Co-Founder and Managing Director of Camida Camida are a specialist supplier of pharmaceutical raw materials, fine chemicals and intermediates to the life sciences industry, founded in 1988. In the latest PharmaSource podcast episode,  David Anchell  shares his journey and insights on the challenges and opportuniti...

“We hide behind that hubris of science, but we still have a lot of operational challenges to really impact the lives of our patients,” warns  Sanjay Srivastava , Managing Director of Accenture’s Centre of Excellence for Cell & Gene Therapy.  This sobering assessment cuts through the hype surrounding cell and gene therapies, highlighting the critical need to address practical hurdles in bringin...

“Quality oversight isn’t just about compliance – it’s about building successful partnerships and driving down costs,” asserts  Stephanie Gaulding , Managing Director at Pharmatech Associates. Stephanie Gaulding, Managing Director at Pharmatech Associates , brings over 30 years of experience in quality management within the life sciences industry. Her expertise in quality systems, regulatory compli...

“What’s in it for the CDMO? That’s the crucial question. We’re not buying a service; we’re establishing a partnership. There has to be interest for both partners.” says  Eduardo da Fonseca . Eduardo da Fonseca , Head of Supply Chain at Bioeq, brings over five years of experience in building a virtual manufacturing operation from scratch. With a background in global companies like Nestlé, Roche, an...

“Sustainability is not just a trend; it’s integral to our DNA,” says Teva’s Global Head of Sustainability Amalia Adler-Waxman, SVP, Global Head of Sustainability and ESG and head of Corporate Affairs of International Markets at Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries , brings a wealth of experience from her roles in government, international affairs organisations, and the pharmaceutical industry. Her uniq...

“Building mutual understanding and trust is the foundation for optimising performance and driving innovation with contract manufacturing organisations (CMOs),” says  Guosheng Zhao , Senior External Manufacturing Lead at LEO Pharma. Guosheng Zhao brings years of experience in procurement, management consulting at PWC, and working with contract manufacturers at companies such as Procter and Gamble a...

“Supply chain leaders make things work. They get things done, but they don’t shine,” says  Knut Alicke , McKinsey Partner and co-author of ‘ From Source to Sold ‘.  ‘From Source to Sold’ contains a series of interviews with top Supply Chain leaders, showcasing the stories of their journeys to leadership positions. Knut’s research revealed that only 11% of CEOs in the Fortune 200 had a supply chain...

“The best CDMO is the one you haven’t worked with.” says Audrey Greenberg.”That’s really unfortunate.. it’s not that hard to be a good service provider.” Audrey is the Founder of Centre for Breakthrough Medicines, the innovative, Pennsylvania-based Cell & Gene therapy Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO). Audrey launched and then sold the company to SK Pharmteco, where sh...

“CDMO environments can often be very tough and chaotic, requiring leaders who can navigate uncertainty" says Neil Kelly, CEO and founder of Vector, a company specializing in talent solutions for the biopharma industry.  "To succeed in this sector, you need to be able to thrive in 'grey' areas. Not all leaders can handle this kind of environment." At CDMO Live 2024, a poll of...

Kurt Nielsen , Ph. D. shares his strategies for sponsors to extract maximum value from contract service providers, the overlooked benefits of AI, and the shifting dynamics of the global supply chain. Kurt has an extensive background in contract development and manufacturing, having previously held senior leadership roles such as CEO at Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (PII), President of Lupin,...

UK Biocentre is a respected leader in sample management, high-capacity bioprocessing & analysis, and automated storage. With the capacity to store 35 million individual sample, it is the main processor for many of the UK’s government genetics projects, including the ambitious Our Future Health project which aims to collect and analyse the genetic samples of 5 million residents. We sat down wit...

“The healthcare industry is responsible for 5% of global emissions, which is more than aviation,” says  Robert Williams  Director of Sustainable Procurement at AstraZeneca. As Vice Chair of the  Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative (PSCI) , he regularly engages with a wide cross-section of stakeholders from across the industry. The PSCI is the leading association for pharmaceutical and healthcar...

Founded in June 2020,  INCOG  has secured FDA-approval and now establishes itself as a new force in contract manufacturing with a focus on sterile injectables.  As we gear up for  CDMO Live , we had the opportunity to speak with  Corey Lewis , CEO, President, and Founder of INCOG Biopharma Services, about their dedicated approach to serving customers in the high-growth sterile injectable market. D...

UniD Manufacturing  are the first global Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) fully dedicated to micro-implants based on sustained release and polymeric formulations. 2024 is an important year for UniD Manufacturing, their first as a CDMO open to external customers, with new projects expected to be launched by the year’s end. Ahead of CDMO Live 2024, Chief Operational Officer...

Prasfarma is a company full of experts in the manufacturing of cytostatic and highly potent products (HPAPI), with a focus on oncology.    Ahead of CDMO Live we spoke to  Diana Alarcón , Business Development Manager at Prasfarma to understand more about the services they offer by the Barcelona-based Contract Development & Manufacturing organisation, and how they have become Annex-1 ready .  “P...

Vitema  is a fast-growing Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) based in Sibiu, Romania. With one of the largest GMP-certified pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in Europe, new management team and assets worth over €100 million, they have ambitious goals. Ahead of  CDMO Live  we spoke to  Diana Serban , the Head of Commercial and Business Development at Vitema. Diana desc...

Aizon  is on a mission to integrate modern computing into the complex arena of GMP manufacturing processes in life sciences. In the latest episode of the PharmaSource podcast we sat down with  Claus Abildgren , Chief Revenue Officer at Aizon, and  David O’Gara , Strategic Advisor to Aizon to understand how artificial intelligence can make an impact on manufacturing in the highly-regulated industry...

“ The biggest challenge for scientists to understand that it’s not just your expertise that people are buying, it’s your ability to connect with their problem.”   Dr. Jeff Kiplinger , a former scientific leader at Pfizer, founded, scaled and sold Averica Discovery Services, a Boston-based CRO specializing in early-stage contract research and analytical development. Now best-selling of author “Expe...