PharmTech Weekly News Roundup — Week of October 27, 2025

In this PharmTech video feature, we highlight the week’s industry news in an easy-to-consume, fun format. New roundups will drop every Friday, so be sure to come back each week.

Collectively, the week’s coverage discusses the pharmaceutical industry’s recent developments and current regulatory landscape. Read on for recaps of each story we’ve covered.

What are the best practices for AI adoption?

In an interview regarding “The State of AI in Next-Generation R&D” at CPHI Frankfurt 2025, Eva-Maria Hempe of NVIDIA noted that artificial intelligence (AI) platforms must integrate R&D data to overcome silos, necessitating a centralized strategy and rigorous change management. Furthermore, automation in the "wet lab" is critical for capturing harmonized data, which provides the high-quality basis needed to "close the loop" for better predictive R&D. The strategic collaboration between Thermo Fisher Scientific and OpenAI, announced at CPHI Frankfurt, aims to save 25% to 60% of time in clinical trial document authoring, enhancing decision-making speed.

Where are supply chain localization and data scrutiny trending?

Geopolitical concerns are driving a pivot toward localized supply chains, where organizations seek to execute clinical trial work within the operating region, according to J.D. Mowery, president of Bora Pharmaceuticals, in an interview at CPHI Frankfurt. Dr. Weite Oldenziel, CEO of Ofichem, observed in his CPHI interview that the pharmaceutical sector is conservative and slow to change, meaning structural supply chain reimagining moves slowly, primarily affecting high-priced, proprietary APIs rather than large-volume generics. Christian Dowdeswell of Arcinova noted that small biopharma firms benefit from single, end-to-end contract development and manufacturing partners who mitigate complexity and allow direct communication between drug substance and drug product teams.

What innovations are being made with excipients?

Novel excipients are urgently needed to keep pace with increasingly complex drug modalities, but major barriers remain, including the risk perception that combining a new API with a novel excipient creates a "double risk," according to Nigel Langley of gChem in his CPHI Frankfurt presentation discussion. Langley also detailed how regulatory scrutiny of traditional excipients like titanium dioxide and talc demands robust scientific defenses, while Peter Freed of Roquette highlighted in his CPHI interview that the move towards plant-based excipients supports bio-based sustainability goals.

How is AI impacting the workforce and hiring?

A panel discussion at CPHI Frankfurt detailed that the industry's accelerated shift toward data-intensive operations requires aggressive, continuous upskilling, with skill refreshes now shortening from years to "every six to 12 months." The speakers also agreed that to manage technological gaps and compete for high-tech talent, smaller players must strategically leverage partnerships for "the technology pieces.” Human oversight remains crucial for interpreting complex results and making decisions in areas with scarce data, as AI cannot be relied upon in the same way as in well-researched domains.