Molecule to Market: Inside the outsourcing space

Delhi boy, done good

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Akshay Peer, co-founder and Senior Vice President of Products at TrakCel.

Your host, Raman Sehgal, discusses the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain with Akshay, covering:

• How the development of a patent led him into the CGT space—years before it was a market
• The founding story of TrakCel and getting GSK as an anchor client to support early iterations of its custom solution
• Fresh-in, frozen-out... just one of the variations of biospecimens to product in the crazy complex CGT supply chain
• Standardizing, streamlining, and harmonizing will become the de facto software choice for the avalanche of CGTs predicted to be approved by 2030
• The decision to seek strategic investors (instead of financial investors) and the advantages it has brought to TrakCel

Akshay is a co-founder and currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Product at TrakCel. Before this, he worked as the Business Development Lead for TrakCel for 8 years, from 2012 to 2018. He then took a break and worked as the CGT lead for Bluecrux.

After a two-year hiatus, Akshay rejoined TrakCel’s team in September 2023 as the new head of product. He is an expert in software solutions to address the challenges of scaling cell and gene therapy products. Akshay has worked with companies developing autologous, allogeneic, CRISPR Cas-9, and other technology-based products.

 

This episode of Molecule to Market is sponsored by Vetter, a global leader in aseptic filling solutions for injectable products in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Discover more about Vetter’s comprehensive services, from early-stage development to commercial production, and how they support clients in delivering high-quality therapies to the market.

 

Please subscribe, tell your industry colleagues and join us in celebrating and promoting the value and importance of the global life science outsourcing space. We’d also appreciate a positive rating!

 

Molecule to Market is sponsored and funded by ramarketing, an international marketing, design, digital and content agency helping companies differentiate, get noticed and grow in life sciences.

Meet the Top Gun CDMO Maverick

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with John Fowler, President & CEO at Pii (Pharmaceutics International, Inc.)

Your host, Raman Sehgal, discusses the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain with John, covering:

• How a competitive family environment and navigating flight school in the Navy equipped him for a successful career
• Why a CDMO business is like managing chaos... under strict regulations
• The silver lining of the pandemic - quality time with his family
• Why he decided to leave Johnson Matthey after 30 years and take a 'title' step back
• Bringing PII back to its former glory and rebuilding a management team

John Fowler brings more than 30 years of pharmaceutical and chemical industry experience to Pii. He most recently served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Piramal Pharma Solutions, a CDMO serving generic companies worldwide. Before joining Piramal, he was the Divisional CEO of the Global Fine Chemical business at Johnson Matthey.

Mr. Fowler also held senior leadership roles in several business verticals at JM, including Pharmaceutical Materials and Services, Environmental Catalysts, and Technologies. He has a Chemical Engineering degree from Bucknell University and an MBA from St. Joseph University.

 

This episode of Molecule to Market is sponsored by Vetter, a global leader in aseptic filling solutions for injectable products in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Discover more about Vetter’s comprehensive services, from early-stage development to commercial production, and how they support clients in delivering high-quality therapies to the market.

 

Please subscribe, tell your industry colleagues and join us in celebrating and promoting the value and importance of the global life science outsourcing space. We’d also appreciate a positive rating!

 

Molecule to Market is sponsored and funded by ramarketing, an international marketing, design, digital and content agency helping companies differentiate, get noticed and grow in life sciences.

Tasty Topics: Navigating Novo Nordisk’s Acquisition of Catalent

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with:

• • Dirk Lange, CEO at Pyramid Labs
  • Brett Alderson, President & Site Leader at NovaCina
  • John Cameron, Director, Global Injectables Platform at Corden Pharma
  • Janet Hoogstraate, CEO at NorthX Biologics

Your host, Raman Sehgal, discusses the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain with Dirk, Brett, John & Janet, focusing on:

• Maximizing GLP-1 manufacturing capacity: Discussing Novo Nordisk’s recent acquisition of Catalent’s manufacturing facilities to bolster GLP-1 production capabilities
• Industry consolidation: What this acquisition means for the pharmaceutical outsourcing industry and its impact on competition among CDMOs
• Meeting surging demand: Exploring how this move positions Novo Nordisk to respond to the rapidly increasing demand for GLP-1 receptor agonists, like those used in diabetes and obesity treatments
• Strategic manufacturing: The implications of integrating Catalent’s capabilities into Novo Nordisk’s operations and what it means for the broader CDMO sector

With GLP-1 drugs at the forefront of diabetes and obesity treatment, Novo Nordisk's strategic acquisition of Catalent aims to strengthen its supply chain and boost production capacity to meet global demand. Our guests provide in-depth insights into how this acquisition could shape the future of drug development and outsourcing across the industry.

 

This episode of Molecule to Market is sponsored by Vetter, a global leader in aseptic filling solutions for injectable products in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Discover more about Vetter’s comprehensive services, from early-stage development to commercial production, and how they support clients in delivering high-quality therapies to the market.

 

Please subscribe, tell your industry colleagues and join us in celebrating and promoting the value and importance of the global life science outsourcing space. We’d also appreciate a positive rating!

 

Molecule to Market is sponsored and funded by ramarketing, an international marketing, design, digital and content agency helping companies differentiate, get noticed and grow in life sciences.

 

Pfizer's retired manufacturing veteran

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Peter Stevenson, Independent Director and Pharma industry veteran.

Your host, Raman Sehgal, discusses the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain with Peter, covering:

• Bringing an outsourcing model from UpjohnPharmacia into Pfizer and then driving manufacturing out of Pfizer into CDMOs without compromising on quality or IP
• Behind the scenes of Pfizer's mammoth acquisitions of Wyeth and Hospira
• The failure to spend too much time setting up a reliable, high-quality outsourcing network in China
• The different perspectives of being 'the mayor of one huge site' to having a diversified, helicopter view across several
• Switching from buy-side external outsourcing to running Pfizer's CDMO division Pfizer CentreOne
• Don't be penny-wise and pound-foolish when balancing the onshoring manufacturing conundrum and how price controls in the US will impact all aspects of the industry

Peter Stevenson is a leader in the pharmaceutical industry with extensive manufacturing and commercial experience. He was a Pfizer’s Global Manufacturing Leadership Team member, responsible for global procurement, global external supply, and a portfolio of Pfizer's internal manufacturing sites in North America, Europe, and Asia. Today, he is a Non-Executive Independent Board Member at Piramal Pharma.

Later, Mr. Stevenson served as General Manager of Pfizer’s contract manufacturing business and Value Stream Leader for the Injectables and Hospital Products Value Stream. Mr. Stevenson recently retired from Pfizer and serves as the Board Vice-Chair for Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases and Chair of the Governance Committee.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Stevenson held positions at Rhone Poulenc and Celanese, including a 3-year expatriate assignment in France. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Arts from Gettysburg College, Pennsylvania.

 

This episode of Molecule to Market is sponsored by Vetter, a global leader in aseptic filling solutions for injectable products in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Discover more about Vetter’s comprehensive services, from early-stage development to commercial production, and how they support clients in delivering high-quality therapies to the market.

 

Please subscribe, tell your industry colleagues and join us in celebrating and promoting the value and importance of the global life science outsourcing space. We’d also appreciate a positive rating!

 

Molecule to Market is sponsored and funded by ramarketing, an international marketing, design, digital and content agency helping companies differentiate, get noticed and grow in life sciences.

Reimagining drug development

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Jen Nwankwo, Founder and CEO at 1910 Genetics.

Your host, Raman Sehgal, discusses the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain with Jen, covering:

• Being the first PHD at Bain's Global HQ, and what she learned from the experience
• How she stumbled across AI and open innovation as it applied to R&D productivity, and accelerating clinical trials
• The founding story of 1910, and fundraising as an African American female entrepreneur and going on to be backed by Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, Y Combinator and Microsoft...
• Signing a five-year agreement with Microsoft to create an AI-driven drug discovery and development platform that helps R&D teams generate drugs faster and cheaper
• Why artisanal and serendipitous drug development does not cut it. And the spectrum of AI experts Vs AI novices in pharma... and why a 'FOMO attitude' will lead to 'pilot fatigue', and slow adoption

Before founding 1910, Jen worked at the intersection of life science, technology, and business. Prior roles include Management Consultant at Bain & Company, Director of Business Development at a health-tech startup (pre-seed to Series A), and drug discovery stints at Novartis and Eli Lilly. During her Ph.D. research, Jen was an HHMI Predoctoral Fellow at the medical schools of Tufts University and Harvard University.

 

Please subscribe, tell your industry colleagues and join us in celebrating and promoting the value and importance of the global life science outsourcing space. We’d also appreciate a positive rating!

 

This episode of Molecule to Market is sponsored by Vetter, a global leader in aseptic filling solutions for injectable products in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Discover more about Vetter’s comprehensive services, from early-stage development to commercial production, and how they support clients in delivering high-quality therapies to the market.

 

Molecule to Market is sponsored and funded by ramarketing, an international marketing, design, digital and content agency helping companies differentiate, get noticed and grow in life sciences.

A lifetime of drug hunting

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Karen Lackey, CEO at X-Chem.

Your host, Raman Sehgal, discusses the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain with Karen, covering:

• Why diversity of thought is essential in solving problems that have never been solved before
• Why did she leave the big pharma world after 30 years to join the world of academia? And how joining a global CRO enabled Karen to democratize its tech and platforms
• Why she's taking her decades of drug discovery experience to help redefine it at X-Chem
• Using AI/ML more holistically to make its innovative platform more accessible and capital-efficient to biotechs dealing with challenging small molecule projects
• Her view on biotech failures and fragmented space and the need to rethink ways to launch biotechs

Karen Lackey is the Chief Executive Officer of X-Chem, a company dedicated to delivering on the promise of a leading small molecule drug discovery partner with unmatched excellence in DNA encoded library technology, digitized drug discovery, and discovery chemistry.

Karen's over 30-year career encompasses international leadership roles within Pharma (GSK, Roche), Academia (MUSC, UA), Biotech (e.g. PyramidBio, BlinkBio, Centauri, Aurobac), Foundations/Charities (e.g. CRUK, TI Horizons) and most recently with the CRO Evotec. She is a passionate drug hunter, playing a pivotal role in discovering Tykerb, and contributing to the advancement of numerous clinical candidates and launched drugs.

Throughout her distinguished career, Karen has been at the forefront of integrated drug discovery, spanning diverse areas such as machine learning/AI/computational chemistry, medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, biochemistry, discovery biology, pharmacology, DMPK, and the application and integration of new technologies.

 

Please subscribe, tell your industry colleagues and join us in celebrating and promoting the value and importance of the global life science outsourcing space. We’d also appreciate a positive rating!

 

This episode of Molecule to Market is sponsored by Vetter, a global leader in aseptic filling solutions for injectable products in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Discover more about Vetter’s comprehensive services, from early-stage development to commercial production, and how they support clients in delivering high-quality therapies to the market.

 

Molecule to Market is sponsored and funded by ramarketing, an international marketing, design, digital and content agency helping companies differentiate, get noticed and grow in life sciences.

The pink-haired CEO

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Emma Banks, CEO at ramarketing.

Your host, Raman Sehgal, discusses the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain with Emma Banks, CEO at ramarketing, covering:

• How a conversation with her late father led Emma to look out for herself and jump into the unknown
• The contrast of two different CEO roles - stepping from a hand-to-mouth cash-strapped tech business into a rapid-growth business
• Why Emma decided to do the UNTHINKABLE...and work with Raman to run ramarketing
• The one piece of advice that has helped Emma navigate being a CEO under PE ownership
• And why, despite some challenges on the horizon...the only way is up for the pharma services space

Having spent over 20 years of experience in the industry with a focus on clinical research and a former board member of the Society of Clinical Data Management (SCDM), Emma is a seasoned expert in the global pharmaceutical and life sciences contract services sector.

After earning a PhD in Immunology and two years of postdoctoral research, Emma led the data management team at a small biometrics CRO before going on to run an international life sciences software business.

Today, Emma heads up ramarketing, overseeing growth plans across North America and Europe, ensuring exceptional service to clients looking to grow in life sciences.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Harvard spin-out disrupting drug discovery

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Rani Powers, Founder & CEO at Pluto Bio.

Your host, Raman Sehgal, discusses the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain with Rani, covering:

• Her passion for coding and what drew her into the world of biology
• How the frustration of using clunky software in the lab led to the exploration of a better alternative... and eventually her own start-up
• The value of continuous user testing in building a solution that truly works and bringing joyful experiences to biologists
• Spinning out her company from the Wyss Institute at Harvard University... in a non-conventional way
• How the adoption and implementation of AI is just getting started... and how it will evolve

Dr Rani Powers is the Founder & CEO at Pluto. She is a computational biologist, software developer, and product leader, helping biologists interface deeply with their data to make new discoveries faster.

She has expertise in deep learning, molecular biology, -omics data & product management, all focused on accelerating drug discovery with beautiful, collaborative software.

 

Please subscribe, tell your industry colleagues and join us in celebrating and promoting the value and importance of the global life science outsourcing space. We’d also appreciate a positive rating!

This episode of Molecule to Market is sponsored by Vetter, a global leader in aseptic filling solutions for injectable products in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Discover more about Vetter’s comprehensive services, from early-stage development to commercial production, and how they support clients in delivering high-quality therapies to the market.

Molecule to Market is sponsored and funded by ramarketing, an international marketing, design, digital and content agency helping companies differentiate, get noticed and grow in life sciences.

The rare disease champion

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Tamar Thompson, Head of Global Corporate Affairs at Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease.

Your host, Raman Sehgal, discusses the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space with Tamar, covering:

• The epidemiological challenge of rare diseases and representing the topic at the White House
• Why is rare disease drug development so hard, but why is there so much interest in the area given the tech advancements?
• The value and impact of an acquisition for mid-sized biotech by pharma giant AstraZeneca
• Some top tips from the perspective of being a minority, female leader in the industry... and the importance of finding your champions

Tamar leads global corporate affairs and is responsible for communications, government affairs, and policy for Alexion. In addition, she serves as Chairwoman of the Board for Alexion’s charitable foundation and the Alexion lead for Inclusion and Diversity. 

Before Alexion, Tamar led Federal Executive Branch Strategy and State Government Affairs for Bristol-Myers Squibb. Tamar has more than 20 years of progressive healthcare experience spanning across several industry sectors.

Tamar holds a M.S. in Health Sciences with a concentration in Public Health from Trident University. Tamar also serves as Chair at MassBio, is on the board of directors for the Boston Chamber, and sits on the Schwartz Center (MassGeneral Hospital) Leadership Council.

 

Please subscribe, tell your industry colleagues and join us in celebrating and promoting the value and importance of the global life science outsourcing space. We’d also appreciate a positive rating!

This episode of Molecule to Market is sponsored by Vetter, a global leader in aseptic filling solutions for injectable products in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Discover more about Vetter’s comprehensive services, from early-stage development to commercial production, and how they support clients in delivering high-quality therapies to the market.

Molecule to Market is sponsored and funded by ramarketing, an international marketing, design, digital and content agency helping companies differentiate, get noticed and grow in life sciences.

The VC Biotech investor

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Chris Garabedian, CEO at Xontogeny and Venture Fund Manager at Perceptive Advisors.

Your host, Raman Sehgal, discusses the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain with Chris, covering:

• How he utilized his pharma experience to become a CEO and revitalize a biotech company, positioning it for a $15bn market cap
• Why the biotech space had such a market downturn, and how the uptake in the industry will be data-driven
• Demystifying the role of a biotech CEO and understanding what it takes to drive successful drug development
• Why relying on outsourcing is critical for biotechs today
• The emerging, secondary-tier biotech clusters in the US... but why does Boston remain unrivalled?

Chris Garabedian founded Xontogeny in June of 2016 to support multiple promising technologies from early development through clinical proof of concept. In 2017, Chris joined Perceptive Advisors to develop their Venture Fund strategy and is Portfolio Manager of the Perceptive Xontogeny Ventures Fund, which supports early-stage companies with Series A investments across biotech, medtech and healthtech.

Chris has a broad base of experience and a track record of success over his decades-long experience in the biopharma industry. Chris served as the President and CEO of Sarepta Therapeutics from 2011 to 2015, overseeing the turnaround of a company that is now a commercial-stage leader in the genetic technology space. He also led Corporate Strategy for Celgene from 2007 to 2010 and served in several global commercial and corporate development leadership roles at Gilead from 1997 to 2005.

He serves on the boards of several life sciences companies and speaks at industry conferences on a wide range of important issues. He is a member of the Corporate Relations Board for the Keck Graduate Institute. He has previously served on the Board of Directors of MassBio and is a Senior Advisor for the Boston Consulting Group.

-----

Join Molecule to Market and ramarketing for an exclusive panel discussion series at this year's CPHI Milan - across 3 power-packed sessions, our industry experts will be sharing insights into driving brand growth with strategic marketing.

Find out more and pre-register here

-----

Please subscribe, tell your industry colleagues and join us in celebrating and promoting the value and importance of the global life science outsourcing space. We’d also appreciate a positive rating!

Molecule to Market is sponsored and funded by ramarketing, an international marketing, design, digital and content agency helping companies differentiate, get noticed and grow in life sciences.