CPHI Milan Adds Sustainability Summit and New AI, Cold Chain, and Labeling Zones to 2026 Agenda

On August 10, 2026, Informa Markets announced the conference program for the CPHI Milan 2026 event, which is happening from October 6-8, 2026.¹ The event is expected to include more than 260 speakers from across the industry to discuss the latest challenges, tools, and innovations happening in pharma. The event will bring together manufacturers, biotech companies, regulators, consultants, and suppliers to explore topics such as artificial intelligence, manufacturing, biomanufacturing, supply chain resilience, regulations, drug delivery, packaging, and more.

The program will be headed by Edgardo Hernandez, executive vice president and president of Manufacturing Operations at Eli Lilly and Company, with a keynote held on Day 1 in the Manufacturing 5.0 Theatre. Other featured speakers includeCatalina Vargas, senior vice president, Global Business Unit, Bristol Myers Squibb, who will present a discussion on the future of manufacturing and digital transformation; Steffen Saltofte, CEO, Zentiva and president, Medicines for Europe, who will take a look at the current global pharma environment; Ronald T. Piervincenzi, CEO, United States Pharmacopeia, who will discuss pressures involved in the pharma supply chain; and many others.

“The pharmaceutical industry is evolving at an unprecedented pace, from advances in AI and next-generation therapies to changing manufacturing strategies, regulatory expectations and sustainability commitments. This year's conference program has been designed to bring together the people leading those conversations, providing attendees with practical insights into the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of the industry,” Tara Dougal, event director at Informa Markets, said in a press release.¹ “Alongside an expanded conference program, the introduction of the CPHI Sustainability Summit creates even more opportunities for collaboration, knowledge sharing and meaningful discussion across the pharmaceutical value chain. We look forward to welcoming the global pharmaceutical community to Milan this October.”

Advancing Sustainability

New to CPHI Milan this year is the CPHI Sustainability Summit, reflecting the growing importance of sustainability across the pharmaceutical value chain. There is increasing pressure for pharma companies to reduce environmental impact and meet evolving sustainability expectations. Sustainability efforts have become a strategic business consideration for organizations. CPHI’s Sustainability Summit aims to assist companies meet their objectives.

The summit, which is taking place directly before the main event on October 5th and 6^th, will bring together more than 300 sustainability leaders, pharmaceutical executives, and supply chain stakeholders. The summit will provide practical approaches to sustainable manufacturing, supply chain decarbonization, packaging innovation, green chemistry, and evolving regulatory expectations.^1,2

To address sustainability needs, CPHI set up an industry-wide initiative, the CPHI Sustainability Collective, to connect sustainability leaders, manufacturers, suppliers, industry associations, and solution providers committed to advancing sustainability across pharma. The 2-day summit was built off the work of the Collective and will feature more than 20 expert-led interactive sessions and more than 10 roundtables and working groups.

PharmTech spoke with Silvia Forroova, director of Partnerships & Sustainability at CPHI, and founder of the CPHI Sustainability Collective, about the new Sustainability Summit and how it can help organizations obtain measurable, commercially viable solutions for sustainability in the pharma industry.

“We did not want to create a conference where you go into sessions and you leave and you've heard some fantastic stuff,” Forroova told PharmTech. “The summit won't be a lecture series. It is a working session. We've designed it around the pillars of peer learning and meeting with people you want to meet, matchmaking style, and actionable frameworks. We really want to ensure that people leave with key takeaways of each session that they can bring back to their, their jobs, their businesses, their work with partners.”

New Zones to Explore

CPHI Milan has added 4 new zones³ in 2026:

The AI and Tech Zone will feature software, digital infrastructure, and intelligent technologies. This zone will include providers across manufacturing optimization, quality management, predictive maintenance, regulatory compliance, CRM platforms, real-world evidence, and analytics.

The Cold Chain & Logistics Zone will focus on technologies and services crucial to the biologics industry and require temperature requirements. It will feature providers of temperature-controlled packaging, real-time monitoring technologies, storage solutions, transportation services, and supply chain orchestration platforms supporting modern pharmaceutical distribution.

The Labelling Zone will center on pharmaceutical packaging, manufacturing and regulations.Innovative approaches to compliance, traceability, anti-counterfeiting, and patient engagement will be presented.

Contamination Control Zone is in partnership with The International Confederation of Contamination Control Societies and will provide a dedicated platform for suppliers supporting sterile manufacturing, cleanroom operations, and contamination risk management.

References

1. CPHI Milan unveils 2026 conference programme with 260+ industry experts and new Sustainability Summit. Press release. CPHI. August 10, 2026.
2. CPHI launches new Sustainability Summit as pharma faces growing pressure to deliver sustainability goals. Press release. CPHI. June 15, 2026.
3. CPHI Milan introduces new specialist AI, cold chain, contamination control, and labelling zones at this year's event