CPHI Americas 2025 - From the Floor

Our From the Floor live blog is back in Philadelphia for this year’s CPHI, this time under the new name CPHI Americas to embrace and represent the whole of the pharmaceutical supply chain from north to south.

Feeling lost in Philly?

Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Well, only if you’re visiting the Pennsylvania Convention Center from May 20-22. If you don’t know where to start your journey at the heart of pharma, read our A Day at CPHI Americas guide to plan your show experience.

A Day at CPHI Americas 2025 – What to Expect

Conference Tracks

This year we are excited to be working with Thermo Fisher Scientific as this year’s Track Sponsor for the Bio-innovation Track, focusing on the current and future trends in bioproduction and R&D in these spaces. Ahead of her session, we sat down with Sr. Business Development and Innovative Solutions Specialist Kristen Humphrey from Thermo Fisher Scientific to understand the flexibility and scalability of outsourcing buffer and process liquid manufacturing. Read the full interview below.

Tracking Innovation with Thermo Fisher Scientific: CPHI Americas Track Sponsor interview

Women in Pharma

Our goal at CPHI is to showcase experience and insight from all across the pharmaceutical supply chain. In our latest installment of our Women in Pharma series, we spoke to speaker Archana Sah, Founder and CEO of AS Pharma Advisors, about her session ‘Unlocking Patient Inclusion and Access: The Power of Decentralized/Hybrid/Virtual Trials’, delving into the importance of increasing clinical trial accessibility.

Women in Pharma: Unlocking patient inclusion at CPHI Americas

Day 3 - May 22

We've made it to the last day of CPHI Americas 2025! While we are sad to see our friends, colleagues, and collaborators go, there is still plenty of innovating to be done while we wrap up the show floor. 

Of course, this event could not be what it is without the work of our incredible CPHI Americas team! Stay tuned for continued updates until the show floor officially closes at noon (Philly time)!

Day 2 - May 21

Cynthia Hunefeld, CEO of Evithe Biotechnology, delivers an impactful session on the potential of botanical prescription drugs and their development. Botanical and herbal products have often been held to different standards than pharmaceutical drugs, and the subsequent quality control for their production and efficacy has lagged. Despite this, research has shown that 76% of patient populations are willing to pay more for quality-controlled natural products, and 78% even prefer naturally derived health products over pharmaceuticals. With this in mind, Hunefeld highlights the work being done to provide an FDA regulatory pathway for quality-controlled natural products and the FDA’s pre-IND responsiveness for standardisation of the main active ingredients derived from botanicals and plant material. Though the knowledge gap between botany and chemistry is still being filled, the area of botanical and herbal health products is one to watch.

As a trade show, contract organisations are the lungs of the show floor, keeping attendees pouring through the doors and returning to conduct business and drive innovation. Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development Executive Director and Professor Kenneth Getz delivers an engaging session on the integration of CDMOs and CROs and transforming the clinical landscape. In his presentation he details the main optimisation areas when integrating CDMOs and CROs, namely making data-driven and science-based decisions, simplification within the manufacturing and clinical domains, and access and convenience of services and offerings. Integration of CDMOs and CROs, moreover, also begs the question of whether there is space for a third-party “integrator” in the pharmaceutical industry as more companies shift to an integrated model.

Over at our Innovation Theater, we heard from several experts on the exciting new opportunities in clinical innovation and technologies. First, we heard from Craig Lipset, Managing Partner at Clinical Innovation Partners, speak about moving towards decentralized clinical trials and adapting to changes in the pharmaceutical ecosystem. Lipset discusses the response from global regulators on clarifying the elements of decentralized trials, but have agreed that patient factors, business continuity, and sustainability, with protocols for such trials to be considered earlier in the process. Ultimately, clinical trials must serve patients in the effort to drive innovative clinical research.

The Opening Address at our Main Stage Theater started with some words of wisdom from Kevin Webb, COO of the API Innovation Center, on securing the future of the US pharma supply chain. A few years out from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is clear that the pharma supply chain has many vulnerabilities that make it susceptible to even the smallest disruption to its operations, exposing not just companies but ultimately patients to risk and inaccessibility of medications. Webb discusses the key strategies in shifting API sourcing to domestic markets – namely, a public/private model to share the risks and benefits of such operations. The main theme here is collaboration between all stakeholders and ultimately, what it really means to be “made in America”. 

The second day of CPHI Americas 2025 is all a-go with more collaboration, innovation, and exploration. Stay tuned for updates from the showfloor and the conference theatres!

Day 1 - May 20

Day 1 ended with a celebratory gala at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the oldest private medical society in the US. The college also hosts the Mutter Museum with collections of real human cadavers and specimens, and delves into the history of medicine, surgery, and healthcare. 

Same Gil, same. PBOA Founder Gil Roth gives his thoughts on the market dynamics shaping the CDMO landscape, and this slide encapsulates much of what the industry is feeling - uncertainty, uncertainty, uncertainty. Key challenges and issues Roth mentions in the race towards US domestic manufacturing is the workforce that will need to be developed and nurtured for all the US facilities being announced by pharmaceutical companies, or the loss of knowledge caused by the US FDA and federal department reorganisations. Only time will tell for how the industry will need to respond to changing market policies and dynamics.

Pharmatech Associates Executive Claudia Lin delivers her personal experiences and insights into whether the BIOSECURE Act is reflective of a shift in the global pharmaceutical supply chain - which she believes it is not. Rather, Lin states that the Act is more of a correction and learning lesson for CDMOs that grow too fast. Lin stresses the importance of balancing the building of new facilities with operational capabilities, inclusive of all activities and requirements in maintaining new facilities. Ultimately, regarding the Act, Lin states the only certainty is uncertainty.

We heard from our panel of investment and biotech experts on the corporate decisions and dealmaking generating waves in the biotech industry and driving IPOs. Stella Vnook, CEO of Likarda, picks at the role of venture capitalists and mentions an overhaul of how biotechs can think of their funding models. "A biotech I was recently in touch with told me of how he funded his biotech start-up with a social media campaign. I felt like I should be the one taking notes!" Vnook states. 

The audience questioned what areas of the pharma industry are investors looking to fund, with biomarkers and faster approaches to approval leading the pack. However, Maha Radhakrishnan, Executive Partner at Sofinnova Investments, added that all therapeutics are of interest to investors - what is really enticing are optimisation pipelines and improving health economics. Technologies for efficiency and new developments in women's health are seeing increasing interest from investors, and are leading the way for innovation in pharma.

The conference sessions have kicked off and we are packed to the brim over at our Main Stage Theatre! We start with a keynote address from Peter Pitts, President of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, who appeals to the audience on the value of addressing the obesity epidemic and measuring the value of GLP-1 agonist drug products such as Ozempic and Wegovy. With 44% of Americans affected by obesity, mostly in low-income communities and communities of colour, Pitts also warns of the pernicious practices from compound pharmacies, with greed trumping public health. Pitts delivers an impassioned address on bolstering the pharmaceutical supply chain and addressing the complexities of drugs like GLP-1 agonists. 

And we're off to the races (through the exhibition doors)! We were once again welcomed to the city of Philadelphia with a live performance from the fantastically dressed Mummers, a staple of the city's cultural landscape. We also heard from CPHI Americas Brand Director Sarah Griffin ahead of the ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially welcome all our exhibitors, attendees, sponsors, and speakers.

Day 0 – May 19

Construction has started and the showfloor is slowly coming together!

The CPHI teams have officially arrived in Philadelphia! Well, technically we arrived yesterday and were fighting the urge to immediately fall asleep.

Today, with renewed energy and excitement, we’re looking forward to reconnecting with colleagues around the world as we gear up for 3 days of innovation.