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In this episode of the Drug Solutions podcast, Felicity Thomas, Associate Editorial Director, chats with Hanns-Christian Mahler, CEO and board member of ten23 health, about the growing demand for fill/finish services, technological advances and novel approaches helping to advance fill/finish, sustainable and green practices, the impact of smaller batch sizes, and regulatory guidance updates in the space.

 holds a PhD in Toxicology from the Institute of Pharmacy at the University of Mainz and is an adjunct faculty member and lecturer at the universities of Frankfurt and Basel. He previously worked for Lonza, Roche, and Merck, and currently serves on the boards of Bionter and KriyaBio. Hanns-Christian is also an editor for several pharmaceutical journals.

 presents the Drug Solutions podcast, where the editors will chat with industry experts from across the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical supply chain. Join us as experts share insights into your biggest questions—from the technologies, to strategies, to regulations related to the development and manufacture of drug products.

Podcasts

In this episode, Hanns-Christian Mahler from ten23 Health chats about the advances in fill/finish.

Drug Solutions Podcast: Growth and Advancements in Fill/Finish 

 podcast, Felicity Thomas, European/Senior Editor, chats with Alexander Natz, Secretary-General of EUCOPE, about the European Health Data Space (EHDS), which was formally adopted by the European Parliament in April 2024. The EHDS aims to improve individual’s the access to and control of their own health data and also to allow for the secondary use of health data in research, innovation, policy-making, and regulatory activities.

 is Secretary-General of the European Confederation of Pharmaceutical Entrepreneurs (EUCOPE). As Secretary-General, Alex advises innovative pharmaceutical and biotech companies, including start-ups, in regulatory and pricing and reimbursement matters from the European Union law and German law perspective. From 2008 to 2013, he was Head of the Brussels Office of Bundesverband der Pharmazeutischen Industrie e.V. (BPI). Before, he worked as a lawyer at Sträter Law Firm in Germany with a special focus on managed entry agreements and licensing of pharmaceuticals. Alex has also worked in the field of competition law with the European Commission and in the pharmaceutical industry. As a research assistant at Duke University (USA) he has dealt with international pharmaceutical law.

In this episode, Alexander Natz from EUCOPE chats about the European Health Data Space.

Drug Solutions Podcast: All About Data: Looking at the EHDS in More Detail

Podcast will give an overview of the biosimilars market. Industry experts will discuss regulatory controls, pricing pressure, the state of the healthcare industry, and other factors affecting the uptake of biosimilars in the market. Manufacturing challenges as well as current and future needs will also be discussed. Experts will also highlight technological innovations, such as digitalization technologies, and their role in facilitating analytical characterization and manufacturing controls for biosimilars.

Zara Bukhari, PhD student, Biochemistry, University of the Pacific, Stockton, California

Zara Bukhari completed a master’s degree in engineering at Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences, India, with an internship at Biocon Biologics, focusing on Semglee (insulin glargine-yfgn). This experience sparked Bukhari’s interest in the pharmaceutical industry. Subsequently, she worked as a bioprocess engineer at Biocon Biologics for six years, contributing to the design of purification platforms for biosimilars and innovator biologics. Notably, she was involved in a validation study leading to the successful biologics license application filing of Ogivri (trastuzumab-dkst), a biosimilar to Herceptin (trastuzumab), offering her insights into regulatory requirements and the biosimilars market. Bukhari is currently pursuing a PhD in biochemistry, specializing in ubiquitin biology at the University of the Pacific, Stockton, Calif. Through her PhD, Bukhari aspires to contribute valuable insights into the role of ubiquitination in regulating the cellular proteome and its broader implications in diseases to advance scientific understanding and potentially aid the scientific community in identifying novel drug targets.

John Gabrielson, Senior Vice-President, Biosimilars, and Head of Business, JSR Life Sciences

John Gabrielson is senior vice-president, Biosimilars, and head of Business for JSR Life Sciences. He is a seasoned executive, company builder, and strategist with nearly 20 years of experience developing biologics. With experience at large and small biotech companies and most recently a leading contract development and manufacturing organization, Gabrielson is now focused on accelerating biosimilar adoption across the industry.

In this episode of the Drug Solutions Podcast, industry experts give an overview of the biosimilars market and discuss factors affecting not only their manufacture, but their upstake in the market as well.

Drug Solutions Podcast: The Biosimilars Landscape

The trend toward digital transformation in biopharmaceutical manufacturing continues as advanced technologies enter the scene and work their way through to manufacturing operations. With the availability of technologies to take automated biomanufacturing from preclinical to commercial-scale, the industry may start to see a wave of changeovers from manual processes to an automated, digital environment. This episode of the 

Podcast will discuss the realities of switching over from manual to digital, and what to expect.

Ajit Yeole, senior director, Life Sciences Manufacturing, Cognizant

Ajit Yeole is the senior director for Life Sciences Manufacturing at Cognizant, based in London, UK.He is responsible for strategy, smart manufacturing, developing new service offerings, and digital accelerators targeted towards addressing the industry needs. Has been closely working on engagements around manufacturing and quality involving emerging technologies (Industrial IoT, advanced analytics, AR/VR , and others) using agile and design-thinking-led approaches. He has led the manufacturing operations management practice for Cognizant in Europe and has delivered large manufacturing programs while collaboratively building tools and templates for consulting offerings. Previously, he worked in manufacturing operations management, IoT (M2M) and OT/ industrial automation as a consultant, solutions architect, and business unit head.

Laks Pernenkil, principal and practice leader, US Life Sciences Product & Supply Operations, Deloitte

Laks Pernenkil, PhD, is a principal in Deloitte’s Life Sciences Product, Supply, Manufacturing and Quality Operations practice based in McLean, Va. He has more than 15 years of consulting and technical operations experience in pharmaceutical, biologics and medical device sectors. At Deloitte, his experience includes smart/digital manufacturing and plant floor operations, plant engineering, facilities management, material sourcing, distribution, performance improvement, operational excellence, and market entry operations strategy.

In this episode of the Drug Solutions Podcast, industry experts discuss the challenges and advantages of the digitalization trend in the biopharma industry, with particular emphasis on the impacts to biomanufacturing.

Drug Solutions Podcast: Digital Transformation in the Biopharma Industry

In this episode of the Drug Solutions podcast, Felicity Thomas, European/Senior Editor, talks to David Tisi, technical director at Senopsys LLC, and Reenal Gandhi, global business development director for the Prescription Division of 

. In the first segment of the episode, David chats about some of the key challenges impacting oral dosage forms and the approaches and solutions available that are helping developers overcome these hurdles. After, Reenal details the intricacies of intranasal drug dosage forms, such as the convenience and the growth of this route of administration, challenges of development, and the possibilities of repositioning drug products.

David Tisi, technical director at Senopsys LLC

David is founding member of the scientific team at Senopsys LLC, a specialty services firm dedicated to the development of palatable drug products. He has over 15 years of experience in taste assessment and taste masking novel drug formulations for children and adults, leveraging his background in sensory science and food chemistry. David received his Masters in Food Science from Cornell University and began his career in product innovation at PepsiCo and Nestle.

Reenal Gandhi, global business development director for the Prescription Division of 

Reenal has more than 15 years’ experience within the drug delivery and pharmaceutical industries, involved in the development and commercialization of wide-ranging drug delivery solutions. Over the course of her career, Reenal has actively worked on business development related to nasal and injectable devices, such as prefilled syringes and autoinjectors. Since December 2020, Reenal has been working for Aptar Pharma, driving the assessment of new opportunities and focusing on new technologies in particular.

In this episode, David Tisi and Reenal Gandhi provide expert insights into advances and innovations changing the drug dosage form landscape.

Drug Solutions Podcast: Innovations and Advances in Drug Dosage Forms

In this episode of the Drug Solutions podcast, Felicity Thomas, European/Senior Editor, catches up with Ana Ladino, Ashland’s Global Director—Regulatory Affairs, about the acceptance of a novel excipient onto CDER’s pilot review program, the next steps involved in progressing an excipient through the review program, and the change in industry’s mindset toward review programs in general.

Ana L. Ladino is Ashland’s Global Director-Regulatory Affairs

. As senior leader of the regulatory affairs function, she manages strategic direction and operational oversight for the regulatory activities for all Ashland’s Life Sciences products: excipients and other oral solid dosage ingredients and coatings, injectables, nutrition, nutraceuticals, agrochemicals, and medical devices. She oversees all FDA and other global regulatory authority interactions for Ashland’s products while ensuring a high level of integrity in regulatory and quality compliance. With 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry, she has extensive experience in drugs, combination products, medical devices, excipients, and API regulatory requirements. She has been involved in industry organizations such as RAPS, IPEC, AAM, ISO, NEMA, authored many global regulatory-related papers, and presents worldwide on various regulatory topics. She served on the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA)—West Chester Board.

Ana holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from Autonomous University of the West (UAO), in Cali, Colombia. In the past, she has worked for West Pharmaceuticals, Accellent, Siemens, GE Medical, and as a university professor.

In this episode, Ana Ladino provides an update on the acceptance of a novel excipient onto CDER’s pilot program.

Drug Solutions Podcast: Progressing Excipients Through Review


In this episode of the Drug Solutions podcast, Felicity Thomas, European/Senior Editor, talks to Ana Ladino, Ashland’s Global Director—Regulatory Affairs, about the role of novel excipients in drug development. Ana highlights the importance of novel excipients in the advancing drug development pipeline, gives an overview of CDER’s pilot review program, discusses potential changes to regulatory approaches in other regions, and provides an overview of best practices for companies to follow when dealing with novel excipients.

Ana L. Ladino is Ashland’s Global Director-Regulatory Affairs.

As senior leader of the regulatory affairs function, she manages strategic direction and operational oversight for the regulatory activities for all Ashland’s Life Sciences products: excipients and other oral solid dosage ingredients and coatings, injectables, nutrition, nutraceuticals, agrochemicals, and medical devices. She oversees all FDA and other global regulatory authority interactions for Ashland’s products while ensuring a high level of integrity in regulatory and quality compliance. With 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry, she has extensive experience in drugs, combination products, medical devices, excipients, and API regulatory requirements. She has been involved in industry organizations such as RAPS, IPEC, AAM, ISO, NEMA, authored many global regulatory-related papers, and presents worldwide on various regulatory topics. She served on the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA)—West Chester Board.

In this episode, Ana Ladino provides expert insight into novel excipients in the current and future drug development landscape.

Drug Solutions Podcast: Novel Excipients in Drug Development

Quality will forever be a topic of discussion for the pharmaceutical industry, and who better to share their insight than FDA? Director of FDA’s Office of Pharmaceutical Quality, Michael Kopcha,deputy director of science, Sau Lee, anddeputy director of operations, Cindy Buhse, join Chris Spivey, editorial director, for a discussion about:

The framework for regulatory advanced manufacturing evaluation (FRAME)

Quality as a co-dependent variable of economic outcome

Advanced versus traditional manufacturing

Pandemic pressures and improved communication

Keeping up with biotech and emerging therapies

Re-shoring drug manufacturing to the United States

What manufacturers need to understand about advancing pharmaceutical science


, PhD, R.Ph., is the director of FDA’s Office of Pharmaceutical Quality (OPQ). This office has more than 1,300 staff responsible for assuring the availability of quality medicines for the American public through assessment, inspection, surveillance, research, and policy. OPQ contributes to the assessment of nearly every type of human drug marketing application including new drug applications (NDAs), abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs), and biologics license applications (BLAs), including 351(k) applications (i.e., biosimilars). OPQ also performs the quality assessment of investigational new drug applications (INDs) and establishes quality standards for over-the-counter drug products and facilities. Dr. Kopcha earned his doctorate and master’s degrees in pharmaceutical science and a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Rutgers University. He served as an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Pharmaceutics at Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers.

, PhD, is the deputy super office director of science in the Office of Pharmaceutical Quality. He directs the activities of staff members in OPQ sub-offices responsible for the quality assessment of regulatory submissions (OBP, OLDP, ONDP, and OPMA). He represents OPQ in programs and activities that impact quality assessments by coordinating with OPQ, the Center of Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), and ORA. He also serves as the point person for the pharmaceutical industry and scientific/academic groups in developing programs to support science- and risk-based application assessment and approval. Prior to joining FDA, Dr. Lee received a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Virginia with a minor in materials science and a PhD in chemical engineering from Princeton University.

is currently the acting senior advisor for scientific operations in the OPQ in the CDER in the FDA. Dr. Buhse joined FDA in 2001 in OPQ’s office of testing and research. She was the director of the office of testing and research from 2013 to 2017 and the director for the office of quality surveillance (OQS) from 2017 to 2019. Before joining FDA, Dr. Buhse worked in management positions in production, validation, and analytical services at Sigma Aldrich Corporation and as a senior research scientist for Rohm and Haas Company. Dr. Buhse received a B.A. in chemistry from Grinnell College and a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. OQS assures that quality medicines are available through signal detection, data analysis, review of the state of quality, and proactive stakeholder engagement.

In this episode of the Drug Solutions Podcast, Chris Spivey, editorial director, interviews Michael Kopcha, Sau Lee, and Cindy Buhse of FDA about not being afraid to try new approaches and how they invite fresh ideas and abundant communication.

Drug Solutions Podcast: FDA Weighs in on Advancing the Science of Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

Counterfeit pharmaceutical products are a global issue that impacts all stakeholders in the pharma industry and poses a potentially lethal threat to patients. Globally, measures have been put in place to help tackle the problems posed by counterfeit medicines; however, as the United Kingdom is now no longer a part of the European Union, concerns have been raised that the country could be left exposed to an increased prevalence of counterfeit medicines infiltrating the market.

Anti-counterfeiting measures are expected to become stricter in the future to ensure patients are protected and with the rising levels of data that will be required to be managed and processed, blockchain could offer a suitable solution to industry. To learn more about the issue of counterfeit medicines and the potential benefits that can be gained from using blockchain as an infrastructure technology, 

 spoke with Raja Sharif, CEO and founder of FarmaTrust—a provider of blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) provenance systems for the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors.

Pharmaceutical Technology discussed the potential increased risk of counterfeit medicines in the UK post-Brexit and how blockchain could be a useful tool to tackle the issue.

Tackling Counterfeit Medicines

The QbD initiative is driving pharmaceutical chemists, formulators, process developers, and manufacturers to come to a better, more detailed understanding of the characteristics of the ingredients they’re working with and how those ingredients behave during different phases of the manufacturing process. Many of these ingredients are powdered solids, and scientists are trying to learn what they can about the characteristics of their constituent particles. This is no easy task.

Editor-in-Chief Michelle Hoffman talks to Tim Freeman, Director of Operations at Freeman Technology, about the industry’s current level of understanding about powder characteristics and dynamics.

Podcast: Powder Dynamics and QbD

Digital solutions help pharmaceutical manufacturers navigate the complex supply chain.

Keys to Navigating the Complex Drug Supply Chain

This article previews some formulation topics discussed in the Pharma Fundamentals series, which aims to enhance learning for professionals in pharmaceutical drug development and manufacturing.

Focusing on the Fundamentals of Formulation

Michelle Heiter, laboratory and quality control specialist, and Susan J. Schniepp, distinguished fellow, Regulatory Compliance Associates, a Nelson Labs Company, discuss how to effectively use contamination control strategies in your operations.

Effectively Using Contamination Control Strategies

EMA and WHO have collaborated for a decade, with WHO utilizing EMA’s scientific expertise to fulfill its mandate to improve access to safe and effective medicines.

EMA and WHO Celebrate 10-Year Collaboration

Unichem Pharmaceuticals has issued a voluntary recall of Cyclobenzaprine Hydrochloride Tablets USP 10 mg after the incorrect label was placed on the wrong product.

Mislabeling Leads to Cyclobenzaprine Hydrochloride Recall

Ask the Expert: Studies for Extractables and Leachables

In this episode of the Ask the Expert video series, Susan J. Schniepp, distinguished fellow at Regulatory Compliance Associates, talks to Piet Christiaens, PhD, scientific director, E&L expert at Nelson Labs, and Dennis Jenke, PhD, principal consultant for Nelson Labs and chief executive scientist, Triad Scientific Solutions, about extractables and leachables (E&L). Specifically, Christiaens and Jenke highlight the differences between the E and the L in E&L and how these two compounds play off each other. Jenke goes into detail about the requirements for leachable studies, while Christiaens provides clarification on what is necessary for extractables.

“The design requirements for leachable studies are pretty clearly outlined in the global regulations,” says Jenke. “That's things like, use three batches of drug product. You use multiple time points over nominal shelf life and accelerated shelf life in order to establish trends. You use drug product units that represent commercial product. In other words, the formulation is the commercial formulation, the packaging is the commercial packaging, and the product has been manufactured using the commercial manufacturing process. There's the expectation that an eligible study has two components, targeted components, where you know it's exactly what it sounds. You know what the compounds are that you need to measure, and you validate [them]. You validate methods to do those measurements. The second component is a screening or non-target component, where you don't necessarily know what the compounds are that you're looking for, and you use qualified methods to look for these compounds above a reporting threshold. The analytical methods themselves, at least in terms of high-level, are relatively well established.”

“During a stability study, you have your different time points, and gradually you see those compounds coming out of the container closure system,” Christiaens says. “If you would not do that, then you would do some kind of impurities profiling of your drug product. That means that you would see everything that is present in the drug product without any differentiation between, is it eligible or not? And that is very important in terms of conclusions. You only want to report in this phase what is coming out of the container closure system and nothing else, because the other things will normally have been addressed in other studies. So, you don't need to repeat that over again.”

Click the video above to watch Piet and Dennis answer the following questions:

“What are the critical points in an E&L study that really need to be addressed before even considering a submission to the health authorities?”

“My company recently performed E&L studies on a product using different approaches and got different results each time. How can we be sure which results are ‘correct’?”

Piet Christiaens, PhD, is scientific director, E&L expert at Nelson Labs. Dr. Christiaens develops analytical methods and protocols for both extractables and leachables studies for the pharmaceutical and medical industries.

Dennis Jenke, PhD, is principal consultant for Nelson Labs and chief executive scientist, Triad Scientific Solutions. Dr. Jenke supports the customers of Nelson Labs Europe in the discussion of general principles, concepts, tactics, and/or strategy related to chemical characterization and qualification of materials, components, and systems used in these industries.

Susan J. Schniepp is distinguished fellow at Regulatory Compliance Associates and a member of 

Welcome to the Ask the Expert video series. This series is an extension of the PharmTech Group’s long-running print column in which industry experts answer common quality and regulatory questions from the industry. This new video series will expand on topic areas to include development and manufacturing concerns to help those working in the industry better understand bio/pharmaceutical requirements. Have a question you would like answered? Send it to 

, and it may appear in a future episode or print column.

Videos

In this episode of the Ask the Expert video series, Susan J. Schniepp, distinguished fellow at Regulatory Compliance Associates, talks to Piet Christiaens, PhD, scientific director, E&L expert at Nelson Labs, and Dennis Jenke, PhD, principal consultant for Nelson Labs and chief executive scientist, Triad Scientific Solutions, about extractables and leachables and the testing required for each.

PharmTech News

PharmTech Videos

 Benjamin McLeod and Sebastian Lykke Skafte Andersen go behind the headlines to examine the motivations behind recent M&A activity, tariff responses, and more.

Behind the Headlines, Episode 23: Patent Cliff Deals, Tariff Pressures, and the In Vivo Cell Therapy Bet

 is a bi-weekly panel discussion examining the latest trends, readouts, and other factors that drive pharmaceutical news and innovation. Each episode features consultants, venture capitalists, scientists, patient advocates, and journalists discussing the prior weeks’ top news while seeking to highlight the more enduring lessons that hide behind the headlines.

In episode 23, the panel analyzes how looming patent cliffs, rising trade pressures, and a new wave of in vivo platforms are reshaping the biotech deal landscape. Benjamin McLeod, founder of Convey BIO, and Sebastian Lykke Skafte Andersen, managing director and founder of ClarityNorth Partners, examine how recent headlines signal deeper structural shifts for pharma commercialization and manufacturing strategy.

The panel begins by spotlighting Merck’s $10 billion acquisition of Verona Pharma (1) as a clear example of dealmaking driven by pricing headwinds. With the 

Most-Favored Nation (MFN) executive order

 pushing U.S. drug prices toward European benchmarks, biopharma buyers are racing to acquire late-stage, revenue-generating assets ahead of price compression. As margins come under threat, preemptive M&A is becoming a go-to strategy for portfolio fortification.

In Vivo CAR-T Moves Closer to Center Stage

Attention then turns to the in vivo cell therapy frontier. Gilead’s Kite Pharma recently acquired Interius Biotherapeutics for $350 million (2), adding a modular in vivo CAR-T platform aimed at broadening therapeutic applications and improving scalability. Cindy Perettie, executive vice president at Kite, highlighted the potential for combining Interius’ novel platform with Kite’s established infrastructure to accelerate in vivo therapeutic development.

Quality Systems

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