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Welcome to the PharmaSource podcast: the pharma and biotech podcast that explores the latest trends, challenges, and commercial opportunities shaping the biopharma manufacturing and outsourcing.
In each episode we'll be speaking with top executives, researchers, and outsourcing experts, who share their perspectives on topics such as building a smarter, more sustainable supply chain, how to partner with CDMOs, digital transformation, procurement and external manufacturing strategies, and plenty more besides.
Make sure to subscribe for your regular dose of pharma insight.
In each episode we'll be speaking with top executives, researchers, and outsourcing experts, who share their perspectives on topics such as building a smarter, more sustainable supply chain, how to partner with CDMOs, digital transformation, procurement and external manufacturing strategies, and plenty more besides.
Make sure to subscribe for your regular dose of pharma insight.
174 Episodes
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"Sustainability isn't just about doing the right thing. It's about making smarter, more cost effective decisions that are really building stronger, more reliable supply chains."Christiane Walker, Product Development Team Lead at Intelsius, believes the pharmaceutical industry stands at a critical juncture where environmental responsibility and operational excellence must converge.Christiane Walker leads the product development team at Intelsius, managing cross-functional teams that design innovative and sustainable packaging solutions. With four years at the company, she brings deep expertise in temperature-controlled transport packaging, working with pharmaceutical clients across global markets to optimise their cold chain operations.In the latest PharmaSource podcast episode, Christiane explains how pharmaceutical companies can simultaneously reduce their carbon footprint, cut operational costs, and improve supply chain resilience through strategic adoption of sustainable packaging technologies and connected digital systems.
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 regulatory strategy for pharmaceutical companies at all stages of development. With a decade of experience in CMC development at Galderma and a master’s degree in regulatory affairs, she has built her career around preventing the costly mistakes that derail pharmaceutical development programmes.In the latest PharmaSource podcast episode, Marine reveals the strategic framework that successful biotechs use to navigate manufacturing partnerships, avoid development pitfalls, and position their products for commercial success. Her approach challenges conventional wisdom about when to engage with CMC planning and demonstrates how early strategic thinking prevents expensive delays down the development pathway.Full article
“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 innovative biopharmaceutical leader - including how strategic partnerships and a matrix organisational approach are driving Teva’s remarkable 10 consecutive quarters of growth. He shares best practices on leveraging generics expertise for innovation, building successful partnerships across multiple therapeutic areas, and creating synergies between different business portfolios.Full article here
“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 billion portfolio whilst leading crisis management and M&A integration activities.Felipe brings a distinctive background to external manufacturing, having started as a pharmacist in QA at Johnson & Johnson, spent time in management consulting at Bain & Company, and returned to pharmaceutical operations with experience spanning both technical and strategic functions.In the latest PharmaSource podcast episode, Felipe shares practical insights on building strategic partnerships without volume leverage, implementing product-centric supply chain management, and using digital tools for supplier selection – approaches that are particularly relevant for mid-sized pharmaceutical companies navigating complex supplier networks and geopolitical uncertainty.
"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 biotech hub as researchers seek new environments that support their work.Julia brings over a decade of international experience, including 11 years in Australia working with human embryonic stem cells, before returning to Germany to drive innovation at the intersection of industry and academia. She also serves as spokesperson for bioDeutschland's Working Group of BioRegions.In the latest PharmaSource podcast episode, Julia explains how changing dynamics are creating new opportunities for European life science clusters and what this means for the global biotech landscape.https://pharmasource.global/content/podcast/the-heidelberg-advantage-biorn/
HHS Secretary’s unprecedented move to terminate 22 federal mRNA contracts sends shockwaves through biotech sector and raises critical questions about U.S. pandemic preparednessThe 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 development. The decision, which affects 22 active projects across major pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Moderna, and Sanofi, represents the most significant policy reversal in vaccine development funding in recent memory.In this episode, we speak to Ben Locwin Vice President at Reliant Life Sciences, about what why mRNA therapeutics are so an important - not just to vaccines but also to cancer, genetic disorders and other therapeutic areas.Read the article
"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 ÁlvarezMari Carmen Álvarez PhD. is the Managing Director of Tetraneuron, a pioneering Spanish biotech developing novel gene therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. With nearly two decades in biotech leadership, she founded Valencia University's first biotech spin-off and brings expertise spanning innovation management, business development, and fundraising from seed to Series A.In the latest PharmaSource podcast episode, Mari Carmen explains why scaling gene therapy development requires more than strong science, how to navigate the complex CDMO ecosystem, and what she learned from a previous biotech failure that shaped her approach to leadership and patient impact.Full interview: https://pharmasource.global/content/podcast/from-lab-to-patient-how-tetraneurons-gene-therapy-approach-is-tackling-alzheimers-disease/
“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 episode, Amber reveals how effective supplier rationalisation transcends traditional cost-cutting approaches, requiring sophisticated change management, cultural intelligence, and the ability to forge consensus amongst diverse scientific teams spanning multiple continents and research modalities.https://pharmasource.global/content/podcast/how-astellas-procurement-cut-their-supplier-base-by-95-while-building-global-consensus/
"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 expansion strategy.Toshihisa brings 34 years of experience at Fujifilm, having witnessed the company's transformation from the golden age of photographic film through the digital revolution to its current position as a major biotechnology manufacturer. His journey spans international marketing, European operations, and now leading the Life Sciences strategy for the 91-year-old corporation.In this exclusive podcast interview, Toshihisa explains how Fujifilm's unique modular manufacturing approach and zero-defect philosophy position the company to achieve unprecedented growth whilst delivering scalability, speed and resilience to pharmaceutical partners worldwide.Full article: https://pharmasource.global/content/podcast/from-film-to-pharma-inside-fujifilm-biotechnologies-5-billion-growth-strategy/
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, Raymond James), Asif Shahinsha (Executive Director, TH Healthcare & Life Sciences), and Vishnu Dwadasi (Director Life Sciences, West Monroe).Download the full CDMO Live report
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 External Manufacturing CTM at Valneva; Catherine Seigneur, Senior Director of External Manufacturing Business Lead at UCB; and Giorgio Salciarini, Head of Sales - Technical Business Development at BSP Pharmaceuticals.Download the full CDMO Live Report
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 2025The 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, Venugopal drew on Novartis's experience with the first two FDA-approved gene therapies to map where the industry stands today — and what it will take to reach the "plateau of productivity.""We had the opportunity to be the pioneers in introducing these innovative medicines in several countries, and sense the opportunities and challenges first hand," Venugopal told delegates in Rotterdam.Download the full CDMO Live report
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 drive production offshore, whilst the Critical Medicines Act attempts to bring it back home. Industry leaders warn that razor-thin margins on generic medicines could lead to widespread product withdrawals if costs aren't carefully managed.Download the full CDMO Live report
“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 VenturesKerstin Papenfuss serves as the Director of Pharma at Deep Science Ventures, where she leads the creation and development of novel therapeutics for unmet medical needs. With a PhD in Tumour Immunology from Imperial College London and an MBA from Bayes Business School, Kerstin brings over a decade of experience in oncology, signal transduction, and pharmaceutical markets to her role building science-based startups from scratch.Kerstin explains why traditional approaches to biotech startup creation often fail and how working from first principles can lead to more successful, impactful ventures. Her experience spans working with entrepreneurs, academics, pharmaceutical companies, and disease charities to build companies that solve fundamental challenges in healthcare.Read the full article:https://pharmasource.global/content/podcast/building-biotechs-from-first-principles-deep-science-ventures-formula-for-science-based-innovation/
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 President External Supply Integration Quality, Johnson & Johnson), and Gwladys Mabonzo (Associate Director External Manufacturing Vaccines, MSD).Download the full 50 page report
“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 manufacturing sites in Europe, India and the US, the company has recently accelerated its growth strategy with major investments in high-growth areas like GLP-1 peptides and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).In a strategic leadership move to drive this expansion, the company appointed Martin Meeson as its new Chief Executive Officer in April 2024, succeeding Sylke Hassel.In the latest episode of the PharmaSource podcast we interview Arul Ramadurai about the company strategy.Full interview
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 PlayersThe panellists painted a stark contrast in digital maturity across the pharmaceutical manufacturing landscape. Dave O'Gara, pharmaceutical business consultant at Aizon with over 30 years experience at Novartis, outlined the current state of play."When you move into pharma and segregate into big pharma, they have digital strategies... When you move into the mid-range CDMOs and smaller CMOs, it's not so active," O'Gara explained, highlighting what he termed a "massive opportunity" for mid-size players.Franziskus Kath, founder of Kath-Consulting and former VP of Emerging Technology for QA at Johnson & Johnson, confirmed this assessment: "The larger the companies, the more digital is already there... Most of them have been for the past eight to 10 years really tackling the topic."From the CDMO perspective, Vishnu Dwadasi, Director of Life Sciences at West Monroe, described significant implementation challenges: "A lot of these companies are still very manual, so they have to move from paper to digital and then digital to eventually leveraging analytics and AI."Download the full report
“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 recording at CDMO Live 2025 in Rotterdam.Ryan brings extensive experience in pharmaceutical supply chain security from his role at Rx-360, a nonprofit consortium representing approximately 130 manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and contract logistics providers. His organisation focuses on safeguarding the quality and security of pharmaceutical supply chains through information sharing and collaborative risk management.In this episode Ryan explains how pharmaceutical companies can build resilience against increasingly frequent supply chain disruptions whilst maintaining patient access to critical medications.Read more
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