Run Faster to Survive: Polpharma's Olaf Birkenmeier Warns Against Western Pharma Complacency

"Seven out of ten medicines dispensed in Europe are generic products. When we only look at price, we don't take into consideration all the efforts European companies make on sustainability. This is an industry we must protect," says Elisabeth Stampa, Vice President of Medicines for Europe.Elisabeth Stampa, Vice President of Medicines for Europe and Chair of the Board at Medichem, brings over two decades of pharmaceutical industry expertise. She has transformed Medichem from a pure API player into a vertically integrated B2B company and now champions sustainable pharmaceutical manufacturing across Europe.In the latest PharmaSource podcast episode, Elisabeth explains why Europe's focus on lowest-cost procurement threatens both supply chain resilience and environmental goals, calling for a fundamental shift in how we value medicine manufacturing.Read the full article

"We can cut preclinical development from five years to 18 months. Molecules which are AI-enabled in some way seem to be doing better in Phase 1 than standard molecules." - Dr. Eva-Maria Hempe, Head of Healthcare & Life Sciences EMEA at NVIDIADr. Eva-Maria Hempe leads healthcare and life sciences for NVIDIA across Europe, combining a background in physics with a PhD in healthcare services design to drive AI innovation across the pharmaceutical industry.In the latest episode of the PharmaSource podcast, Eva-Maria explains how NVIDIA's accelerated computing platforms are enabling breakthroughs in drug discovery, clinical trials, and personalised medicine through parallel processing power that's revolutionising pharmaceutical R&D.NVIDIA's Toolbox: Accelerating Every Stage of Pharmaceutical DevelopmentNVIDIA has developed a comprehensive suite of specialised tools for pharmaceutical companies, with the Clara platform encompassing multiple technologies targeting different areas of drug development:Parabricks: Software for sequencing of DNA and RNA data which accelerates genomic analysis from 30 hours to just 60 minutesMONAI Toolkit: Processes medical images for both human diagnostics and cellular analysisBioNeMo Framework: Handles biological language models for protein folding and molecule generationHoloscan: Enables real-time sensing and edge intelligence for laboratory applicationsNVIDIA has recently released EVO 2, an AI foundation model for biomolecular sciences released in February 2025, in collaboration with Arc Institute with contributions from Stanford University and UC Berkeley "It was trained on 9 trillion nucleotides from 100,000 species across the tree of life," Eva-Maria says. "It can predict with 90% accuracy whether a previously unrecognized mutation would affect gene function or not."Read the full article

“You don’t just need to be good; you need to be better than others to drive your business,” warns Olaf Birkenmeier, Head of External Manufacturing at Polpharma Biologics, describing the evolutionary pressure facing Western biopharmaceutical manufacturers.Olaf Birkenmeier leads external manufacturing at Polpharma Biologics, bringing senior leadership experience from Sandoz and Novartis to bear on the challenges facing by pharma companies in an increasingly competitive global market.In a recent PharmaSource podcast interview, Olaf draws parallels between the pharmaceutical industry’s competitive landscape and the Red Queen hypothesis – an evolutionary biology theory proposed in 1973 that suggests species must constantly adapt, evolve, and proliferate to survive while pitted against ever-evolving opposing species. This principle, he argues, perfectly captures the continuous innovation and improvement required for Western biopharmaceutical companies to maintain their market position.Join Olaf Birkenmeier at ⁠CDMO Live 2025⁠Read the full article on PharmaSource

“Other CDMOs couldn’t handle these products, but we figured it out through technical grit and deep expertise,” explains Jackie Klecker, Executive Vice President of Quality and Development Services at Lifecore Biomedical.In a CDMO Live Preview episode of the PharmaSource podcast, Jackie and Ryan shared insights into how Lifecore Biomedical has built its reputation as a contract manufacturer capable of handling the most challenging manufacturing projects, particularly as it celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2025.Jackie Klecker brings 30 years of medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturing expertise to Lifecore Biomedical, where she’s spent 15 years evolving from technical operations to her current position leading quality and development services. She is joined by Ryan Swanson, Director of Process Development, who brings 11 years of industry experience, including significant CMC expertise from his time at Bristol Myers Squibb.Read the full interview with Lifecore Biomedical and meet you them at CDMO Live 2025

“Most founders dominate organisations, spending 70-hour weeks trying to control everything. But it’s not about the hours you work – it’s about the impact. That shift in mindset transformed how I built multiple successful businesses in pharma services,” explains Raman Sehgal, reflecting on his journey from startup founder to strategic leader.Raman Segal is the founder of ramarketing, a PE-backed life sciences marketing agency, Lead Candidate, a specialist pharma talent firm, and is host of Molecule to Market podcast. Based in Toronto as North American President, he has scaled multiple ventures in the pharmaceutical services sector while maintaining work-life balance – a feat many entrepreneurs find elusive.In this interview, Raman shares his framework for productive leadership, strategic growth, and building specialist businesses that command premium pricing in the pharmaceutical services sector.Read the full articleMolecule to Market is official media partner to CDMO Live, and Raman will be recording podcast episodes live from the event. Find out more and register here.

Francisco Blanco, founder of Conducta consulting, believes the human element in CDMO-sponsor relationships has been lost in the race for efficiency. “I feel like the human component of these relationships has been lost. When I see five-star client services from CDMOs, it’s typically not because of the strength of their processes – it’s the individual.”Francisco Blanco brings over 15 years of experience from leadership roles at Thermo Fisher and IQVIA to his consultancy Conducta, where he helps life sciences companies navigate complex supply chain transformations, with particular expertise in cell and gene therapy operations.In this PharmaSource podcast episode, Francisco shares crucial insights on how biopharma companies and CDMOs can redesign their customer experience approach, particularly as the cell and gene therapy sector evolves.Read the full interview

"We estimate about 8,000 metric tonnes of solvent per year are used by the industry to support solvent-based spray drying. That's a significant impact on cost, maintenance, safety and the environment," says Elizabeth Hickman, CEO of AustinPx, highlighting a critical sustainability challenge in pharmaceutical manufacturing.Elizabeth Hickman brings extensive experience in pharmaceutical contract manufacturing to her new role as CEO of AustinPx, having worked with several CDMOs and held leadership positions focused on developing innovative pharmaceutical technologies and business strategies.In a recent interview, Elizabeth discusses how AustinPx's innovative KinetiSol technology is eliminating the need for toxic solvents in pharmaceutical manufacturing while improving drug performance and reducing costs in the realm of amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs). She also shares insights on leadership and diversity in the pharmaceutical CDMO sector.Read the full article on PharmaSource

“We seek long-term partnerships where our technologies can bring genuine value-add that sustains growth. It’s not about geography – it’s about matching specialties and capabilities with companies who share our vision for innovation,” says Rocco Paracchini, Director of CDMO Business Unit Morpho at Alfasigma.Rocco Paracchini brings a blend of a biology background and extensive pharmaceutical manufacturing experience to his role as Director of Morpho at Alfasigma. After transitioning from biotech to CDMO operations in 2011 in different CDMOs across Europe, he joined Alfasigma in June 2024 to drive its Contract Development Manufacturing transformation and growth.In the latest episode of the PharmaSource podcast, Rocco shares insights into how Alfasigma, a global pharmaceutical company founded over 75 years ago in Italy with 4,000 people across four continents, is evolving its CDMO strategy to meet growing market demands, with particular focus on customer-centric manufacturing solutions and technological innovation.Read the full article onPharmaSource

A perfect Storm for US Drug Manufacturing as FDA Changes, Trade Wars and M&A Surge Collide "There's optimism… but the challenges aren't day to day - it can be minute to minute," warns Gil Roth, President of the Pharma and Biopharma Outsourcing Association (PBOA), describing a pharmaceutical manufacturing sector facing unprecedented change in 2025. Gil Roth brings deep expertise in pharmaceutical policy and manufacturing legislation, having launched PBOA in 2014 as an essential bridge between contract manufacturers and government stakeholders. In the latest PharmaSource podcast episode, Gil shares detailed insights into how the new administration's trade policies and leadership changes will likely create both challenges and opportunities for US pharmaceutical manufacturing. Read the full article Join Gil Roth and other industry experts at CDMO Live 2025

“The automotive industry was once in a similar setup to big pharma players, but they evolved through closer supplier collaboration and continuous improvement practices,” says Fabrice Le Garrec, drawing parallels between today’s pharmaceutical manufacturing challenges and the automotive industry’s transformation. “Toyota’s model of developing suppliers as an extension of your company is something pharma isn’t doing enough of.” Fabrice Le Garrec brings extensive pharmaceutical operations experience as former VP of Global Operations at Teva and GSK, and ex-McKinsey consultant. Through OSCIS Network, he now leads a network of over 100 pharmaceutical professionals providing performance transformation services across North America and Europe. In the latest episode of the PharmaSource podcast, Fabrice shares crucial insights about how pharmaceutical manufacturers can transform their operations by adopting Toyota’s proven approaches to supplier integration, continuous improvement, and operational excellence, including lessons learned during the COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing ramp-up. Don’t miss Fabrice’s talk at CDMO Live 2025: 10 things I’d do differently if leading new fast-track pandemic drug launch again. Download the agenda here