CPHI Frankfurt special – the future of health

Welcome to this special on-site episode of our podcast, recorded live at CPHI Frankfurt 2025, the premier global event for the pharmaceutical industry. In this episode, Editor Vivian Xie speaks to Sabine Kapasi, global health strategist, entrepreneur, and CEO of Enira Consulting. This year’s gathering brought together thought leaders, innovators, and policymakers to discuss the most pressing issues and transformative trends shaping the future of healthcare, the following episode encapsulates the key themes that were discussed at CPHI Frankfurt.

In this insightful episode, host Lucy Chard is joined by Aurelio Arias from IQVIA to explore the transformative role of GLP-1 therapies in clinical obesity treatment and the technological advancements driving their success. Aurelio delves into how these medications are revolutionising care, offering hope to millions worldwide. A key focus is the upcoming patent expiry of semaglutide in 2026, which could significantly impact affordability and global access, sparking discussions on equitable distribution.

In this episode, host Lucy Chard and guest David Staunton of Cognizant dive into the transformative role of AI in the pharmaceutical industry, exploring advancements that are reshaping manufacturing, packaging, and distribution. From the rise of "smart factories" to the seamless integration of AI across specialised production processes, we discuss how technology is accelerating innovation and what the future holds for pharma in the next decade.

In the latest episode Lucy Chard engages in a compelling conversation with Dr Lengwe Sinkala, a seasoned clinician and Human Factors and User Experience Consultant at ClariMed. The discussion delves into the disparities in global access to medical devices, highlighting the stark differences between developed and developing regions. Tune in to the CPHI Podcast Series to hear Dr Sinkala’s inspiring insights and explore how we can collectively work towards a more equitable healthcare landscape. 

Jim Donovan from Pfizer CentreOne discusses the fast moving field of sterile injectables and how Pfizer CentreOne navigates the challenges in GLP-1s and beyond, and continuously works on being a consistent partner.

In this key episode, Digital Editor Lucy Chard is joined by Dr Molly Klote, former Director of the US Department of Health and Human Services Office for Human Research Protections. Molly sheds some light on the policy changes we have witnessed over the past few years in the US, including the latest executive orders regarding the ‘Most Favoured Nation’ policy whereby the US government aims to slash drug prices to match those of other developed countries.

This episode covers how the pharmaceutical industry can work towards better meeting the needs of an underserved population. Rare diseases are often overlooked by pharmaceutical companies when developing drugs as the process is time consuming, expensive, and only serves a niche market. But the patients suffering from rare diseases still deserve to have the best opportunity for life changing medicine. Dea Belazi from AscellaHealth discusses the challenges in this field, and the exciting paths into the future.

In this podcast Christine Furst, Senior Director Key Account Management Europe from Vetter joins host Lucy Chard to discuss the relationship between pharma companies and CDMOs and the impacts this relationship has on a business’s vision for the future.Taking into consideration that although the practical and technical aspects have to line up, more and more partnerships are placing value in the corporations seeing ‘eye to eye’ because they want the relationship to grow and flourish. We touch on the importance of people, sustainability and values aligning for building successful partnerships.

This month's podcast episode sounds a little different, covering the latest event in Paris - Pharmapack 2025. Digital Editor Lucy Chard speaks to several experts direct from the floor of the show, bringing you right in on the action. In this special episode we hear from experts Tom Etheridge from Team Consulting, Lizzie Smith from Anthesis Group, Asmita Khanolkar from SMC Ltd, and our very own Sherma Ellis Daal from Informa Markets to give a few different perspectives on some aspects of the event and the industry as a whole.

In this episode, Evonne Brennan joined host Lucy Chard for a chat about the complex world of excipients. Excipients is an ever changing field that involves a lot of moving parts and in the following episode Evonne gave an insight into some of these aspects. The podcast covers the security of the excipient supply chain and how this can influence issues such as drug pricing and drug shortages. Brennan highlights how important communication and collaboration is in this field for education and for pushing to find the next target for progress, that ultimately will make the lives of patients better.