BPR: What new products or innovations is your company showcasing at CPhI North America this year?
Piramal Pharma Solutions will be showcasing the company’s expanded capacities and capabilities in drug development and manufacturing services, with particular emphasis on four segments: API/HPAPI production in the US and Canada, antibody-drug conjugation services in Grangemouth, Scotland, oral solid dosage forms for early development from our Pennsylvania drug product site, and our globally integrated offering of drug substance and drug product CDMO services.
BPR: What are you hoping to achieve from the event?
CPHI NA provides an opportunity for us to meet with both current clients and new prospects. For the former, the show gives us face time to discuss the status of their programs, any ongoing challenges, and how our technical problem-solving expertise is being put to use. For the latter, it’s a great place to introduce our breadth of services that encompasses 15 sites on three continents.
BPR: How does your company stay ahead of industry trends and developments in the pharmaceutical sector?
As a patient-centric CDMO, understanding the dynamics of the industry and its effect on patients is vital to our success. We rely on both human and digital intelligence sources to stay current, and we build/expand accordingly. This is evidenced by the substantial investments we have made over the past few years in our API, HPAPI and ADC capabilities.
BPR: What challenges is your company currently facing in the pharmaceutical market, and how are you addressing them?
On a macro level, one key challenge is around the recovery of biotech funding. It’s safe to say that much of the industry’s innovation is driven by biotechs so when they are not well funded, the CDMO sector is adversely affected. Other than that, we face many of the same challenges as most CDMOs. For example: global geopolitics, talent acquisition and retention, and supply chain. We address them directly. Our sites are located only in countries that are politically and economically aligned with US, which makes us less challenged by political concerns. In terms of talent, we are always building and strengthening our scientific expertise, which can be seen in the launch of the Piramal Pharma Solutions Science Collective. The Collective is our brain trust of SMEs in key areas like drug substance, formulations, peptides, biologics, and ADCs. And our supply chain has undergone a program to ensure safe and secure supply that began even prior to the pandemic. We produce many key starting materials in house, and any raw materials that are obtained externally are contracted through double or even triple vendor partner sources located on multiple continents.
BPR: What strategies does your company employ to ensure the quality and safety of its pharmaceutical products?
We have an extensive and talented internal quality team that uses time-proven process to ensure quality and safety. This combination of technology and expert knowledge gives us numerous redundant systems at every site. Our track record is impeccable, which is validated by numerous global regulatory agency inspections and approvals and hundreds of annual customer audits.
BPR: Can you discuss any plans for expansion or market growth that your company has in the pipeline?
As a publicly traded company we cannot talk specifically about future plans, but in general, Piramal is always looking at adding new capabilities and expanding the capacity of those we currently have in place. Acquisitions that can add something new or different to our current service portfolio are evaluated on a constant basis and when we feel there is something that will move the needle in our ability to serve customers and patients, we will move ahead aggressively.
