Shubhajit Paul, a senior research fellow in Boehringer Ingelheim’s Department of Material Analytical Sciences, spoke with PharmTech at AAPS PharmSci 360 to explain how tabletability prediction can be improved for roller-compacted formulations.
News|Videos|November 5, 2026
Supply Chain Excellence Through Just-in-Time Manufacturing
Author(s)Nishma Patel, Susan Haigney
Almac Clinical Services’ clinical supply strategy won the 2026 CPHI Award for Supply Chain Excellence. Nishma Patel, supply chain solutions manager, explains the benefits and challenges of the company’s just-in-time manufacturing solution.
Advertisement
At CPHI Milan 2026, Almac Clinical Services won the
Almac Adapt moves certain secondary packaging and labeling steps closer to the moment a patient actually needs treatment, Patel explained. In a traditional model, product is packaged and labeled in bulk in advance, based on forecasts for specific countries or protocols. However, clinical trials often experience recruitment shifts, moved treatment dates, and changes in regulations, protocols, and expiry dates. Packaging too much too early risks waste, and packaging too little risks leaving a patient without supply. Adapt instead holds product in a less committed state and packages it in response to real, immediate demand.
The study tested this approach on several fronts at once. The patient population was ultra-rare, and the drug product was scarce, expensive, and short-lived. Patients had to clear a 2-step screening process, including hospital board approval, so dosing dates were unknown until then. Treatment then had to line up with a planned surgical window. Patel stated that meant coordinating the patient and family, the clinical and surgical teams, the treatment site, and Almac’s supply chain team. The product also had to be handled at −80 °C, so a single temperature or timing error could cost an irreplaceable dose.
Adapt triggered packaging and labeling only once each patient was confirmed ready, Patel explained. That avoided premature labeling, reduced the risk of expiry, and protected the sponsor’s limited bulk supply, lining the supply chain up with each patient’s journey.
Click the video above to watch the interview.
Advertisement
Related to this article
Vivek Gupta of Duquesne University explains at AAPS PharmSci 360 why device decisions can't wait and why excipient makers must test beyond drug molecules.
The PharmTech team focused on its coverage of AAPS PharmSci 360 this week, conducting interviews with experts on a range of topics including formulation platforms, AI, amorphous solid dispersions, and animal studies.
Vibha Jawa, PhD, chief scientific officer at EpiVax, discusses the limitations of current preclinical testing approaches and how new approach methodologies can strengthen drug development.
Pauric Bannigan, Intrepid Labs, explains how physics-informed machine learning aids formulation and why regulators still want experimental data.
Vibha Jawa, PhD, chief scientific officer at EpiVax, explains why the need for animal studies varies by modality and what it takes for organ-on-chip and other human-relevant models to replace these studies in IND-enabling toxicology work.
Sanjay Konagurthu, PhD, senior director of Science and Innovation at Thermo Fisher Scientific, explains what teams need to do to ensure the usefulness of AI and what strides have been made with AI in regulatory submissions.
Pauric Bannigan, Intrepid Labs, explains where AI speeds formulation decisions, why data is the bottleneck, and how active learning trains models with far less data.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Trending on Pharmaceutical Technology
1
Improving Oral Peptide Delivery Through Structural Modifications
2
Drapeau’s AI Deep Dive: The Price of Acceptance in Regulated AI
3
Regulatory Roundup—October 2026: FDA Advances Rare Disease Development and Transparency Efforts
4
Potent APIs Amplify Carryover Risk: AAPS PharmSci 360 2026
5