CPhI Continues to Build Influence at Second Annual North American Event

May 14, 2018

Premier pharma supply chain event marked by innovation-inspired programming, key focus on women in leadership, and powerful networking

Building on the success of last year’s inaugural event, CPhI North AmericaOpens in a new window, the only event to bring the complete North American pharma supply chain together, today reported that the 2018 edition of the show was both well-received and well-attended, with exhibitors and attendees alike reporting positively on their experiences with strong Net Promoter Scores (NPS) and high rebooking numbers for 2019. The event, which took place April 24-26 in Philadelphia saw more than 6,500 attendees and 670 exhibitors from 89 countries descend on the Pennsylvania Convention Center to conduct more than 2,780 meetings over three days packed with more than 110 hours of insightful sessions featuring 60 thought leaders, exhibitor showcases, networking opportunities, and a chance to soak up some of Philly’s cultural and artistic heritage.

For 2018, the show floor was expanded to more than 100,000 sq. ft. and included an expanded InformEx zone plus two new zones: The Bioprocessing zone focused on highlighting innovations in biopharmaceuticals, while the P-MEC zone showcased the latest pharmaceutical equipment, machinery and technology. Also announced during CPhI North America was bioLIVEOpens in a new window, a new event with an exhibition and live content stage that will debut adjacent to CPhI WorldwideOpens in a new window in Madrid from 9-11 October 2018 and feature with CPhI North America in 2019.

The theme for CPhI North America, Fostering Innovation in Drug Development and Manufacturing, was reflected in fascinating keynotes that explored the changing face of healthcare and the evolution of life sciences to embrace technological advances and deliver on next-generation care.

On Tuesday, The Medical FuturistOpens in a new window, Dr. Bertalan MeskoOpens in a new window’s insightful and entertaining keynote - Science Fiction in Healthcare – explained how the convergence of technology, highly personalized healthcare, access to granular data and instantaneous communication is empowering patients to become active architects of their own well-being, leading a cultural revolution that demands key functionality and is driving both the design and technological developments of future healthcare.

Wednesday’s keynote session saw Nik Leist, Senior Director of Ingestible Sensor Manufacturing and Site Leader at Proteus Digital HealthOpens in a new window, take the stage to dive deeper into the convergence of digital technologies, healthcare and wearable devices, and how digital medicines are fundamentally improving patient outcomes through a unique technology ecosystem. His keynote explored how existing semiconductor manufacturing technologies are being leveraged to produce high yield ingestible sensors smaller than a grain of sand that can be paired with medications.

The final keynote on Thursday from Peter SteinOpens in a new window, MD, Deputy Director, Office of New Drugs, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, FDA, titled The Changing Drug Development and Drug Regulatory Landscape, examined the potential role of real world data and real-world evidence in regulatory decisions, building on the narrative running through all of the keynotes relating to patients being central to healthcare innovation.

Wednesday morning saw the announcement of the aforementioned bioLIVE at a special breakfast session. Themed ‘Accepting the Challenge,’ the breakfast was anchored by a discussion hosted by Dr. Ronald G. Kander, Ph.D., Dean, Kanbar College of Design, Engineering & Commerce Associate Provost for Applied Research, Jefferson University and Mary Lynne Bercik, Founder and CEO, GenZinnovation, and the work that they are pioneering through the recently announcedOpens in a new window Jefferson Institute for Bioprocessing partnership with Ireland’s National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and TrainingOpens in a new window. The planned facility, set to open in 2019, aims to address the current skills shortage and provide world class training for professionals and students who are pursuing a career in the biologics manufacturing industry, supporting risk reduction, improving quality and efficiencies, and creating innovative solutions throughout the supply chain.

Commenting on the unveiling of bioLIVE, Rutger Oudejans, Global Brand Director Pharmaceutical, and project lead bioLive, said: “We’re very happy with the attendance at the bioLIVE breakfast morning where we outlined our plans for the inaugural edition of bioLIVE, which runs alongside our small molecule brand, CPhI Worldwide. This expanded portfolio, now covering shows across the globe, will harness the obvious synergies, essentially bringing small and large molecule worlds together to create an environment where both industries can learn from each other through a content rich experience with networking connectivity for the bioprocessing supplier community.”

Thursday morning saw one of the conference highlights with a very well-attended second Women in Leadership Forum. Empowering Women to Thrive was led by keynote speaker Lynn TaylorOpens in a new window, Senior Vice President, Head of Healthcare Global Government and Public Affairs & Head of Corporate and Government Relations USA, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, who gave a powerful and inspirational address that drew on her own personal story of how she balanced parenthood, health, well-being and a successful career. The work of leaders like Lynn has been pivotal in realizing the potential for organizations to evolve and truly embrace the power of women to thrive. Lynn was then joined for a highly interactive panel discussion by Tina GaryantesOpens in a new window from Chromocell, Hugh WelshOpens in a new window from DSM, and Mike KoskoOpens in a new window from Pfizer, moderated by podcast host and Insigniam consultant, Alise CortezOpens in a new window, which involved attendees sharing their own experiences and inspirations.

“The whole CPhI North America team are delighted with such a strong show and turnout and we’d like to thank all of our attendees, exhibitors and sponsors for such a positive experience and fantastic atmosphere,” concluded CPhI North America Brand Director, Joseph Marks. “We expanded this year to meet strong exhibitor demand and again sold out. Exhibitor sentiment has been extremely positive, reflected in our strong NPS figures and the fact that 71 per cent of our exhibitors have already rebooked for 2019. The senior networking value of the event was evident in the fact that 57 percent of visitors this year held a position of director or higher. In addition to the rich program of content, other show highlights included Tuesday’s Exhibitor Reception held at the National Constitution CenterOpens in a new window, the stunning mural arts tour in partnership with Mural Arts PhiladelphiaOpens in a new window, the showcase presentation from our charity partner, International Medical CorpsOpens in a new window, and our wrap up PharmaQue cook out, which after three days of networking and hard work, was warmly received by our guests.

“Our goal is to always be more than simply another trade show, which is why we put a lot of emphasis on embracing the cities around the world where we hold our events. As a result, surrounding every CPhI event, there’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to promote diversity, cultural understanding, an appreciation of the arts, as well as providing opportunities for our guests to experience a true taste of local flavor. We’d like to thank the great City of Philadelphia for two fantastic years and look forward to next year’s event in Chicago.”

CPhI North America 2019 Opens in a new window will be held at McCormick PlaceOpens in a new window, Chicago, from April 30 to May 2.