CPhI North America, a comprehensive event covering various corners of the pharmaceutical industry, is returning in 2022 as a ‘smart’ event. The online learning and networking content is taking place in the virtual realm May 9-27l the in-person programming is slated in Philadelphia May 17-19.
To learn about what attendees to the gathering might expect, Outsourcing-Pharma connected with Sarah Griffin, event manager for CPhI North America.
OSP: Can you tell us about the new brand launching at CPhI North America?
SG: One very positive development we are excited to announce is the launch of our new brand, which we are introducing with much excitement and will empower our audiences to source with greater clarity, connect and learn. We also felt it was the ideal moment to reflect on the values of CPhI and how our role within pharma has evolved and become much deeper over the last few years – and crucially to explore the enabling role we can play as the industry grows moving forwards.
Anyone attending CPhI North America will be presented with a brand new visual identity, designed to deliver the smoothest possible brand experience so they can concentrate on maximizing opportunities. Everything we have done is to help the industry to match with exactly the right partners, and to be able to do this more quickly.
Another positive development is that moving forwards, in a world where large sections of the industry will continue to work in hybrid settings, we will be using our reach to engage with pharma to build stronger communities, 365 days a year. To fully harness our role ‘at the heart of pharma’ and help deliver better global connections and empower the industry with year-round online communities, learnings, and networking.
One good example, is our constantly improving digital and matchmaking tools, as these allow you to build completely unique networks and connections that match to your individual needs and business goals. This can be done before, during, and after our events.
OSP: Why have you chosen now to do this?
SG: CPhI is hugely well-established and by far the most celebrated pharma exhibition globally – but the best brands evolve with their communities and so we continue to widen our reach and bring in new audiences.
Globally the industry is growing quickly, but it is also changing and evolving – and the industry increasingly needs integrated solutions, both digital and in-person to help them meet and source new contacts. They also want to work with brands that share their wider commitments to the environment and society.
What you will see from us over the next few years is more tools to help the industry continue its great work in driving innovation, healthcare improvements, and bottom-line growth, but provided 365 days of the year. This means we will provide not just year-round marketing, learning, and meeting tools, but also, practical advice for exhibitors and attendees on selecting and working with the right partners.
What we have seen throughout the pandemic is that pharma advances quicker when it has more partners and nurtures more collaborative approaches. Collectively, the industry has been able to achieve bigger milestones and in faster timeframes, so we want to continue to facilitate this step-change in approach. As underpinning all the rapid development and improved supply chain security in pharma is a wider breadth of partners – which is exactly what we are here to deliver.
OSP: Could you please tell us what’s new for CPhI North America 2022—are there any new sessions, features, or networking events you’d like to highlight?
SG: CPhI North America will run as a ‘smart’ event, with two additional weeks of networking and content on either side of the in-person edition in Philadelphia. The online event – with online Learning Labs and video meetings – will open for access from May 9-27, with the in-person event held May 17-19.
Additionally, in the run-up to the event, attendees will be able to start searching the CPhI North America platform for potential partners and planning from April 18th – providing ample time to prepare for both in-person and online meetings. This enables attendees to experience far more of the industry and not just in the run-up to the event.
For example, in the week after the in-person event closes you will be able to watch, via on-demand video, any missed conference sessions and Learning Labs – but crucially, you can also arrange meetings with anyone you did not get the chance to connect with at the event.
OSP: Could you please talk about some of the thinking behind bringing it back to a face-to-face meeting, and some of the benefits of being in the same physical space with other participants?
SG: Pharma is a very people-focused industry and meeting face-to-face to discuss projects and technical capabilities helps nurture deeper conversations and get a feel for the culture of companies.
CPhI North America is also unique in the region in that it covers the entire pharmaceutical supply chain and this provides such a wide range of partnering possibilities. There is no other platform where you can meet quickly with all your customers and potential partners you need in one place and, with this density of options, it becomes a very dynamic place for new ideas and connections.
This also saves attendees a great deal of time and air miles in an extremely globalized, but increasingly, environmentally conscious industry. In fact, our research data shows that on average a trip to CPhI will save the need for as many as seven trips later in the year. For example, we often hear our attendees say that it’s not just pre-arranged meetings and stand visits that drive business growth, but it is also the chance encounters where you get the spark of creation for new ideas. So it’s a tremendous accelerator of partnering.
OSP: Could you please share some of the sessions you feel are worth highlighting?
SG: The agenda this year is particularly comprehensive and split into four main tracks covering US Market Insights, Drug Manufacturing Dynamics, Navigating Supply Chain and Capacity issue Challenges, and Biologics and Bioprocessing.
Looking deeper at individual sessions, on the opening day, a panel of experts will explore what’s driving the adoption of continuous manufacturing – with a perfect storm of conditions accelerating changes. In the late afternoon, we have a very timely session, hosted in partnership with IPEC Americas, on the recently introduced Novel Excipient Review Pilot Program – which enables a review of novel excipients prior to their approval as part of a drug formulation.
The acquisitional and investment environment across pharma manufacturing has been ‘white hot’ in recent years and we have two sessions marrying both investment and industry perspectives.
The first is a panel – moderated by Bob Girton, Partner, Edgewater Capital – which reviews ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Frameworks and what investors are looking for within these. He explores this topic in response to the rise of ESG mutual funds and, of course, pharma’s increased focus on supply chain sustainability and impact.
The second session from Brian Scanlan, Operating Partner - Life Sciences, Edgewater Capital asks the big question of CROs and CDMOs – ‘where have all the entrepreneurs gone’. With the wave of acquisitions in the industry, we now have a void of medium-sized CDMOs and CROs – that offer the benefit of flexibility and size not found in the larger companies – and he explains how some of the highly innovative smaller companies can now bridge this gap becoming tomorrow’s mid-sized players.
Finally, another key highlight is the biologics and bioprocessing conference track, which is delivered in partnership with the Jefferson Institute of Bioprocessing. It will feature sessions on cell and gene therapy challenges/opportunities, strategic manufacturing development for ATMPs, and the need for new modalities, as well as a panel on how to overcome the major bottleneck of finding a skilled workforce.
CPhI North America is scheduled online May 9-27 and in-person in Philadelphia May 17-19.
