CPHI North America Lookahead: Facilitating ‘meaningful conversations’ on needs and solutions

CPHI NA takes place as a SMART event this year, with online learning and networking from May 9-27 and an in-person event from May 17-19 in Philadelphia, PA.  

The event includes four distinct conference tracks - Drug Manufacturing Dynamics, US Market Insights, Navigating Supply Chain and Capacity Challenges, and Biologics & Bioprocessing – see the full conference programme here.  

To get a sense of what to expect this year, we caught up with Bikash Chatterjee, CEO of Pharmatech Associates, who will be participating in a panel discussion on continuous manufacturing (Drug Manufacturing Dynamics track).  

He tells us which sessions he is most looking forward to and explains why CPHI NA is the perfect format for ‘meaningful, in-depth conversations on needs and solutions.’ 

Register for CPHI North America now.  

What are you looking forward to most at CPHI NA this year? 

I am looking forward to connecting with my industry colleagues, both on the drug sponsor side and supplier/service provider side. Our role is not only technical when we work with our customers: we are often asked to identify the right supplier and service partner—whether it’s an outside testing lab or a CDMO to support our clients’ programs. CPHI provides us the chance to have meaningful conversations in a short period of time. 

What should our attendees expect from CPHI NA? 

Excellent networking, access to industry leaders, with educational sessions that capture the current best-in-class thinking and next steps for our industry.  

We have a packed program with innovative content throughout the three days. Is there a particular session you’re excited about? If so, why should people attend? 

There are quite a few sessions that interest me. The Novel Excipient Pilot program review is an important topic that impacts the CMC and regulatory strategy for multiple drug modalities.  

The U.S. market insights will also be interesting, particularly the session predicting pricing reforms.  

My panel session on continuous manufacturing should be informative for anyone who’d like to learn about the possibilities and advantages of continuous for existing and new programs. USP and Pharmatech have focused on the key financial and market analysis requirements to evaluate whether and when continuous is right for a drug sponsor’s program. 

You will be taking part in drug manufacturing dynamics (track 2) at CPHI NA. What's your opinion on the GMP guidance and how will that affect smaller companies?  

I assume you are referring to the ICH Q13 draft guideline that was recently issued for comment. I think the guidance will benefit from feedback from industry and certainly has generated a great deal of discussion regarding what constitutes continuous manufacturing. What it does well is to provide guidance on what to focus on when building a CMC and quality strategy for a filing. This will certainly help smaller drug companies who may be contemplating continuous manufacturing for their drug products. 

Finally, why should people attend CPHI NA? 

I have always felt this conference was one of the best for drug sponsors because it brings together suppliers and service providers to connect for meaningful, in-depth conversations on needs and solutions. It’s one of the only conferences that spans the entire supply chain, which means it presents an opportunity to move programs forward quickly in a short period of time.