The education programs at DCAT Week 2022 provided a strong way to gain the insights from leading industry executives on key issues impacting the bio/pharmaceutical manufacturing value chain. 

Longer lead times. Inflationary pressures. Transportation bottlenecks. A changing geopolitical landscape. These are just some of the supply-chain challenges that Bio/Pharma companies and CDMOs/CMOs/suppliers are facing today. A panel of industry experts discussed the ways in which the industry is addressing these issues and how to further mitigate supply risk in the DCAT Week 2022 program, Executive Insights: Navigating the New Supply Chain Paradigm.

Participating in the panel to provide perspective on overall supply practices as well as specialized considerations for small-molecule drugs, biologics, and raw materials sourcing were: Christopher Langan, Senior Vice President, API External Manufacturing, Eli Lilly and Company; Bala Sreenivasan, Vice President of Global Supply Chain Operations, Merck & Co., Inc.; and Klaus W. Hagenmueller, Head, Global Supply Chain Management, Health Care Business Line, Evonik Operations GmbH. Derron Stark, Principal, EY-Parthenon, Ernst & Young, moderated the panel discussion.

In a very engaging dialogue, the executives discussed how supply practices have evolved since the pandemic and that continue to evolve in light of changing business conditions. They offered perspectives on further measures for risk mitigation, supply-chain security and transparency, and on how digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence/machine learning can be applied in sourcing and supply management.

A view from the C-Suite
In The Innovation Leaders program at DCAT Week 2022, DCAT Member Companies were able to get a view from the C-suite on the future of drug development from Aamir Malik, Executive Vice President and Chief Business Innovation Officer, Pfizer. In his role at Pfizer, Mr. Malik is responsible for the company’s strategy, business development, portfolio management, pipeline prioritization, and formation of new business ventures, as well as the advancement of innovative access partnerships with payers and governments around the world.

In a one-to-one interview conducted by Sean Diver, Senior Director, Commercial Development, Small Molecules, Lonza, Past President of DCAT, and current DCAT Board Member, Mr. Malik shared his perspective on key issues driving product innovation, including adapting new models in R&D, approaches in external innovation/partnering, and the role of digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence, in new drug development. He also shared perspectives on the decision criteria used in portfolio optimization, both for pipelines and commercial products, and what considerations are behind the critical choices for where R&D dollars go. The full house attending the program were able to get a first-hand executive view of how these key issues are shaping current and future drug development.