
PharmTech interviewed Katy MacLellan, Technical Team Leader at Symbiosis, about her journey from a Scottish island to senior roles at Pfizer, Eli Lilly, CSL Seqirus and now Symbiosis. She highlights how female mentorship and visible STEM programs propelled her career and how companies with strong gender diversity, like CSL, foster inclusive cultures. MacLellan also points to emerging technologies—process analytics and AI‑driven drug discovery—as game‑changers for pharmaceutical manufacturing and rare‑disease development. Finally, she celebrates Symbiosis’ new Stirling facility, which adds 15,000‑vial batch capacity to support clinical‑to‑commercial scale‑up.
The article outlines how RFID technology is reshaping traceability for both retail and healthcare packaging. It details real‑time tracking, anti‑counterfeit safeguards, and compliance with serialization mandates. The piece highlights cost reductions as RFID components become more affordable. It also contrasts...
Capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE) is being positioned as a high‑resolution, label‑free method for quality control of mRNA therapeutics. The article details how the SCIEX BioPhase™ 8800 system, paired with the RNA 9000 Purity & Integrity Kit, can resolve tailless mRNA species that lack the...

Bain & Company’s Global M&A Report 2026 reveals pharma’s pivot from pure IP hunting to vertical integration, especially in radiopharma, GLP‑1 obesity treatments, and antibody‑drug conjugates. Deal values rebounded to $4.9 trillion in 2025, with strategic transactions focusing on manufacturing capacity, isotope...

Vetter Pharma announced a €1.5 billion expansion to build a new commercial sterile‑injectable manufacturing plant in Saarlouis, Germany, slated to create up to 2,000 jobs and begin phased construction in Q2 2026. The investment also includes a clinical production facility in Des Plaines,...
ROSS introduced the CDA‑200 Dual Shaft Mixer, engineered for high‑viscosity pharmaceutical batches up to 500,000 cP and 200 gallons per run. The system pairs a 10‑hp anchor agitator with a high‑speed disperser, creating a vortex that rapidly wets dry ingredients and ensures...

Halo Pharma has spun off its API assets to become a standalone drug‑product CDMO in North America, concentrating on formulation, fill‑finish and scale‑up services. The divestiture follows SK Capital Partners' sale of Noramco’s API business to Siegfried, freeing resources for...
Rare‑disease therapies have shifted from a niche experiment to a core growth engine for biopharma, driven by the 1983 Orphan Drug Act and subsequent incentives. Smaller, adaptive trials and surrogate endpoints have lowered development costs, with orphan drugs averaging about...

A looming U.S. government shutdown could cripple FDA operational capacity, turning routine inspections into a bottleneck and creating a sizable backlog of pending reviews. While user‑fee‑funded core reviews may continue, the loss of predictability hampers agency responsiveness and administrative processing....

The United States formally withdrew from the World Health Organization on January 22, 2026, citing alleged failures and politicization. The exit threatens to fracture the global regulatory framework that pharmaceutical companies rely on for drug approval and quality standards. It also jeopardizes...

Raj Puri, chief commercial officer of Argonaut Manufacturing, warns that tariffs, soaring U.S. investment and compressed product timelines are forcing CDMOs onto a tight operational rope. A seven‑figure tariff on key equipment illustrates how trade policy can cripple ROI calculations...

GSK’s adjuvanted recombinant RSV vaccine Arexvy received European Commission approval on Jan. 26, 2026 for all adults 18 years and older, expanding beyond its prior indication for seniors and high‑risk 50‑59‑year‑olds. The EU estimates roughly 158,000 adult RSV‑related hospitalisations each year, underscoring the...

Mirum Pharmaceuticals completed its acquisition of Bluejay Therapeutics, bringing the pan‑genotypic monoclonal antibody brelovitug into its rare‑disease portfolio. The drug is in the global AZURE Phase 3 program targeting chronic hepatitis delta virus (HDV), with topline data expected in the second...

SK Capital Partners has agreed to sell the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) assets of the Noramco Group to Swiss contract manufacturer Siegfried, as announced in a Jan 27 2026 press release. The divestiture allows Halo Pharma to become a dedicated North American...

PharmTech, formerly known as Pharmaceutical Technology for nearly five decades, has officially rebranded with a new name, logo, and digital experience. The company highlights a refreshed content strategy slated through 2025 aimed at scientists, innovators, and C‑suite leaders. It emphasizes...

Mirum Pharmaceuticals completed its acquisition of Bluejay Therapeutics, adding the Phase 3 antibody brelovitug for chronic hepatitis delta virus (HDV) to its pipeline. The deal integrates Bluejay’s team and assets, aiming to finish the AZURE Phase 3 program and prepare for potential...

The FDA has issued a draft of M4Q(R2), a globally harmonized framework that structures quality information for pharmaceutical registration applications. The guidance splits data into Module 2.3 (quality overview) and Module 3 (body of data) and introduces the DMCS model to standardize...

The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) is creating digital reference standards (dRS) and digitally structured compendial methods (dDS) to support digital‑first pharmaceutical workflows. These standards will be incorporated into the USP‑NF, allowing manufacturers to use machine‑readable data instead of physical materials....

Pharmapack announced that its flagship pharma packaging and drug‑delivery event will debut in Singapore in November 2026, extending the Europe‑based format to the Asian market. The expansion was revealed during the Pharmapack Europe 2026 awards ceremony held in Paris. The...

In a 2026 industry outlook interview, Laine Mello, director of Marketing at Ecolab Life Sciences, said the pharmaceutical sector is under margin pressure and is shifting toward next‑generation therapies such as biologics and advanced modalities. To support these complex products,...
Codexis unveiled its ECO Synthesis™ Manufacturing Platform, a fully aqueous, enzymatic process for producing siRNA at scale. The platform demonstrated a 10‑gram laboratory synthesis and can deliver up to 100 grams of GLP‑grade RNA for toxicology studies, positioning it to surpass traditional...

At Pharmapack 2026, ACG Packing unveiled SuperPod™, a new cold‑form blister laminate that reduces cavity size by up to 39% and triples the number of blisters per shot. The multi‑layer construction enables deeper draws without compromising the aluminum barrier, cutting material...

Datwyler, LTS Device Technologies, and Stevanato Group announced a strategic partnership to create an integrated platform for self‑administered large‑volume subcutaneous biologics. The solution combines Stevanato’s EZ‑fill® 10‑20 mL cartridges, Datwyler’s NeoFlex™ spray‑coated plungers, and LTS’s Sorrel wearable injector, targeting doses up...

Proteolysis‑targeting chimeras (PROTACs) are leveraging the ubiquitin‑proteasome system to degrade disease‑causing proteins, opening treatment avenues for previously undruggable targets such as aggressive childhood cancers and resistant triple‑negative breast cancer. Major pharmaceutical companies—including Amgen, BMS, J&J, AbbVie, AstraZeneca and Novartis—have advanced...

West Pharmaceutical Services introduced the Synchrony S1 prefillable syringe system at Pharmapack 2026, targeting biologics and combination products. The platform offers 1 ml and 2.25 ml staked‑needle options as well as Luer‑lock configurations, paired with NovaPure and FluroTec barrier‑film plungers. By delivering a single‑source,...

In 2025 pharmaceutical packaging moved from simple containment to active protection, with functional materials that mitigate moisture, oxygen and impurity risks. Companies are embedding safety features such as child resistance directly into paperboard, while sustainability mandates drive mono‑material, recyclable designs....

Syngene International has extended its strategic research partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb through 2035, adding a decade of collaborative planning for drug discovery, development, and manufacturing. The deal reinforces an integrated service model that spans chemistry, biology, DMPK and clinical...

Sharp announced a €20 million expansion of its European injectable packaging sites in Belgium and the Netherlands. The Dutch plant will launch two Grade D GMP packaging suites by 2026, while the Belgian location will quadruple cold‑chain storage, double ambient space, and...

Patient‑centric drug development is reshaping the pharmaceutical landscape, prompting sponsors to turn to CDMOs for specialized formulation services. Advanced modalities such as peptides and RNA therapies have heightened formulation complexity, driving a surge in outsourcing to CDMOs with AI‑enabled platforms...

The PharmTech Weekly roundup underscores a rapid shift toward agentic AI, sustainability, and resilient supply chains across drug development. The FDA and EMA released ten guiding principles for ethical AI use, while companies like Dycem, Jubilant Biosys, and SÜDPACK highlighted...

Establishing a secure supply chain now starts with early, cross‑functional purchasing controls. Development, quality, and procurement teams must collaborate to define requirements, qualify suppliers, and create quality agreements before scale‑up. The Parenteral Drug Association’s upcoming ANSI/PDA Standard 001‑2020 formalizes these expectations...

At Pharmapack Europe 2026, SÜDPACK Medica introduced its next‑generation PharmaGuard blister line, a mono‑material polypropylene solution that replaces multi‑layer composites with a recyclable, phthalate‑free film, now available in an opaque white version for better dosage readability. The company also launched...

The U.S. FDA and Europe’s EMA have jointly published ten guiding principles for the use of artificial intelligence across the drug development lifecycle. The framework covers human‑centric design, risk‑based validation, data governance, multidisciplinary expertise, and clear communication of model performance....

Dycem, a contamination‑control specialist, celebrates 60 years since its 1966 founding, tracing roots to a high‑friction polymer discovered in 1960. The company grew from niche non‑slip products to global cleanroom solutions, now present in more than 50 countries and 30,000...

Single-use systems (SUS) are becoming integral to cell and gene therapy (CGT) manufacturing, offering pre‑sterilized, disposable components that eliminate cleaning validation and enable fast changeovers for low‑volume, high‑value products. Automation and modular platforms are now being paired with SUS to...

Pharma leaders say 2026 will be defined by the rise of agentic AI, sustainable manufacturing, and resilient, regionalized supply chains. AI agents are moving from pilot projects to embedded decision‑making in drug discovery, process optimization and digital twins, slashing timelines...

Pharma companies are curbing investment amid pricing pressure and growth anxiety, creating a self‑fulfilling slowdown. To protect against supply disruptions, firms are auditing entire supply chains, adding second and third sources, and holding safety stock, which ties up cash. Geographic...

Contract packaging firm Tjoapack announced the addition of an oral solid‑dosage bottle packaging line at its Etten‑Leur, Netherlands site. The Cremer Uhlmann IBC 50 line can fill up to 50 bottles per minute, handling any bottle shape and integrating carton, leaflet and...

Jubilant Biosys Limited announced the opening of a new discovery and pre‑clinical facility in Noida, India, that doubles its chemistry capacity and integrates early‑phase scale‑up with R&D labs. The 20,000‑sq‑ft campus adds fifteen reactors, two pilot‑plant blocks, and expands the...

Beena Wood, chief product officer at Qinecsa, argues that AI can revolutionize pharmacovigilance by detecting safety signals within hours across languages and geographies, but only if foundational data issues are solved. She highlights fragmented, non‑interoperable datasets as the primary barrier,...

Dr. Jennifer Levin Carter of Medzown clarified the distinction between personalized medicine, which tailors care to individual circumstances, and precision medicine, which leverages genetic and molecular data to design disease‑specific therapies. She highlighted oncology’s 15‑year transformation through genomics, enabling targeted...

Lifordi Immunotherapeutics is pursuing an immune‑directed antibody‑drug conjugate (ADC) strategy that uses the VISTA protein to deliver potent steroids directly to immune cells. VISTA’s rapid internalization allows the ADC to release its payload intracellularly, aiming to avoid the systemic toxicities...

Rapid sterility testing (RST) is reshaping pharmaceutical quality control by cutting release times to roughly six days and providing objective, non‑visual detection methods. Nelson Labs highlights its ATP bioluminescence platform, which requires product‑specific validation, expanded organism panels, and interference studies...

Saharsh Davuluri, Vice Chairman of Neuland Labs, warns that peptide and API manufacturing must undergo rapid digital transformation by 2026 to keep pace with modern biologics. He highlights the surge in peptide therapeutics across cardiovascular, dermatology, and CNS indications, creating...

Tevard Biosciences showcased its suppressor tRNA platform at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, presenting pre‑clinical data that rescued full‑length dystrophin in Duchenne muscular dystrophy models and restored titin in dilated cardiomyopathy models. The technology corrects premature termination (nonsense) codons, enabling...

Medable unveiled its Trial Master File (TMF) AI agent, a new module of the Agent Studio platform, at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference. The agent automates document intake, classification, and metadata extraction before a one‑click upload to eTMF systems such as...
Strategic outsourcing through CROs and CDMOs is reshaping biopharma pipelines, linking discovery, formulation, and early‑phase manufacturing into seamless workflows. By tapping external expertise, companies can accelerate complex modalities such as cell and gene therapies, RNA medicines, and next‑generation biologics. Integrated...