Molecule to Market: Inside the outsourcing space

CPHI 2025 wrap-up

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with our host Raman Sehgal, who discusses the themes and vibe of CPHI 2025 in Frankfurt.

 

 

Molecule to Market is also sponsored by Bora Pharma and Charles River, and supported by Lead Candidate. 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!

20 years of CPHI - Veterans Guide

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll hear wily old wisdom, golden nuggets and invaluable insider tips about CPHI. The nuanced stuff from Veterans of CPHIs gone by you’ll never find in a generic AI-written playbook. The show features:

• James West, Managing Director, Bourne Partners
• Arul Ramadurai, CCO at Axplora
• Christine Fuerst, Director Key Account Management Europe, Vetter Pharma International GmbH
• Dan Stanton, leading pharma/biopharma industry journalist 
• Jeremy Drummond PhD, retired VP Sales and Marketing Exec.

 

Molecule to Market is sponsored by Bora Pharma, Charles River, and Lead Candidate. Please subscribe, tell your industry colleagues, and help us celebrate the value of the global life science outsourcing space. We’d also appreciate a positive rating!

Themes from PBOA Conference 2025

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Gil Roth, President, at Pharma & Biopharma Outsourcing Association (PBOA).

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

How planned FDA budget cuts and the ongoing US government shutdown are impacting the industry. And the potential outlook if those issues remain unresolved...

Why positive early-phase clinical trial activity could signal a stronger year ahead

Real-life applications of AI and machine learning for GMP in CDMOs through signal and pattern recognition

Why Gil is feeling more optimism across the CDMO community

And yes… you can also see Gil and Raman together on stage at the industry’s very own “Super Bowl” of conferences

Gil Roth is the Founder and President of the Pharma & Biopharma Outsourcing Association (PBOA), a nonprofit trade group that advocates for the regulatory, legislative and general business interests of the CMO/CDMO sector. In this role, he brings CDMO perspectives and education to FDA, the US Congress, and other bodies, and brings CDMOs together to share best practices, develop policy positions, and provide briefings on government positions that impact that sector. He also organizes and hosts PBOA's annual members-only Meeting & Conference. Previously, he was the Founding Editor of Contract Pharma magazine. In his alleged free time, he produces a weekly cultural conversation podcast called The Virtual Memories Show (https://chimeraobscura.com/vm).

 

Molecule to Market is also sponsored by Bora Pharma (boracdmo.com) and Charles River (www.criver.com), and supported by Lead Candidate. 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!

The understated CDMO CCO

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with JB Agnus, Chief Commercial Officer at Bora Pharmaceuticals.

Your host, Raman Sehgal, speaks with JB about the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain, including:

How his global roles taught him the importance of bridging cultures

What attracted him to Bora Pharmaceuticals and the company’s remarkable trajectory

The value of intentionality, taking charge of your own career, and prioritising physical and mental wellness

What it really looks and feels like to be a CDMO CCO, and the realities of stepping up into the role

Why it matters not to conform to the norm and instead stay true to yourself

Prior to joining Bora, JB held senior leadership roles in business development at AGC Biologics, Ajinomoto Bio Pharma Services, Novasep, and Isochem. He holds a bachelor’s degree in organic chemistry from Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III in Toulouse, France, and a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Centrale Méditerranée in Marseille, France.

 

Molecule to Market is sponsored by Bora Pharma, Charles River, and Lead Candidate. Please subscribe, tell your industry colleagues, and help us celebrate the value of the global life science outsourcing space. We’d also appreciate a positive rating!

The CEO driving change at Curia

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Philip Macnabb, Chief Executive Officer at Curia.

Your host, Raman Sehgal, speaks with Phil about the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain, covering:

Over 25 years of working with private equity — and why PE is ultimately about building sustainable value.

The common threads he looks for as a CEO of any new organisation, and why employees often know the answer first.

Navigating the COVID comedown at Curia, making major network changes, and refocusing on biotech clients.

Why CDMOs are really selling trust as the service, not just manufacturing — and how that plays into customer intimacy and reputation.

Betting on the trend toward small batch sizes and personalised medicines in biotech and pharma.

Phil leads Curia in pursuit of its mission to improve patients’ lives, applying end-to-end capabilities and deep scientific expertise to advance customers from idea to impact.

He brings more than 20 years of private-equity leadership experience to Curia, including the last decade in healthcare. Most recently, he served as Chief Executive Officer at Epsilon Global, a company he co-founded. In addition to his healthcare experience, he has held senior positions in technology, distribution, and consumer products. Phil has a proven track record of sharpening companies’ core value proposition, enhancing the customer experience, and building organisations with real, lasting value.

Phil earned an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BS in Business Administration from Purdue University.

 

Molecule to Market is sponsored by Bora Pharma and Charles River, and supported by Lead Candidate. Please subscribe, tell your colleagues, and help us celebrate the value of the global life science outsourcing space. We’d also appreciate a positive rating!

The People-first CEO of FUJIFILM Biotechnologies

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Lars Petersen, President & Chief Executive Officer at FUJIFILM Biotechnologies.

 

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

• The difficult decision to leave Novo Nordisk and make the jump from one great company to another in Genentech/Roche.
• How leaving a Biogen site led him to step away from big pharma after 25 years and transition to the CDMO side.
• How Fujifilm’s culture of innovation, technology, quality, and people runs through the Biotechnologies division — and why empowerment and culture should never be compromised.
• Why the duplication of its CDMO sites globally, all running on the same kojoX platform, is truly differentiating.
• Why he believes the need to standardise, scale, and globalise drug production in a consistent, efficient, and traceable way is key to the future of the supply chain.

Molecule to Market is also sponsored by Bora Pharma (boracdmo.com) and Charles River (www.criver.com), and supported by Lead Candidate. 

 

Lars Petersen, CEO of FUJIFILM Biotechnologies, is recognized as a visionary leader in the life science sector, commanding a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with nearly 5,000 employees spread across Denmark, UK, USA, and Japan. 

 

Distinguished for his strategic vision and a "people first" philosophy, Lars has profoundly impacted the company and the industry. His leadership journey saw him rise from Chief Operational Officer & Senior Vice President at the Danish site, where he established an empowering culture, to CEO, promoting transparency across all operations. Since his global leadership appointment in June 2023, Lars has been instrumental in cultural transformation, integrating a "people first" approach across FUJIFILM Biotechnologies’ global facilities regardless of geographical differences.

 

Prior to his appointment as CEO, Lars was responsible for the Global Large Scale Commercial operation including full profit and loss accountability as well as the responsibility for over $6.2 Billion global expansions both in Hillerød, Denmark, and Holly Springs, North Carolina, USA.   Previously, Lars has held leadership positions with Biogen, Genentech/Roche, Novo Nordisk, Novozymes and NNE, and he has successfully executed projects in Europe, China and the US.   Lars holds a master’s degree from the Technical University of Denmark.

 

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! 

Driving growth and removing waste for big pharma

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Matt Lowe, CEO at performance.io/

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

• Seeing a niche in SEO, within the healthcare space... and opting to take a risk and jump our of big pharma.
• Why healthcare agency models are built for agencies, not pharma.
• The mass wastage of big pharma spend when it comes to the commercial launch.
• How you should be thinking about generative search and customer experience... and why Google is still dominating the search landscape.

Founder and CEO at performance-io (PIO), Matt has been the driving force behind bringing search engine optimization (SEO) into pharma. With more than 22 years in the highly regulated industry pharma space, spanning client-side and agency roles, he is responsible for a number of industry firsts, all focused on helping pharma companies to revolutionize their customer engagement.

 

Molecule to Market is also sponsored by Bora Pharma (boracdmo.com) and Charles River (www.criver.com), and supported by Lead Candidate. 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!

Riding the ups and downs of entrepreneurship

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Michael Scholl, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at Leukocare.

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

• The influences, and potential for impact that led him down a path of entrepreneurship.
• Chronicling the ups and downs of over 20 years in business at Leukocare.
• Pivoting to be a specialist CRO/CDMO with a differentiation in data-driven, formulation development... leading to a record year in 2024.
• How the delay in decision making in the market is impacting the pharma services space.

Michael Scholl is the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Leukocare, a leading CDMO specializing in formulation and drug product development services for sterile injectables. With more than 20 years of leadership experience in the life sciences industry, Michael is responsible for shaping the company’s strategic direction and cultivating partnerships with biopharmaceutical clients around the world.

Under his leadership, Leukocare has established itself as a trusted partner in advancing complex biologics from early development to market-ready drug products. He began his career as a business consultant at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), he holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from the Technical University of Berlin and studied at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley.

 

Molecule to Market is also sponsored by Bora Pharma (boracdmo.com) and Charles River (www.criver.com), and supported by Lead Candidate.

 

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!

Unlocking CDMO growth via commercial excellence

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Kaan-Fabian Kekec, Partner in Healthcare and Life Sciences at Simon-Kucher.

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

• Being on the sunny side of consulting, and helping clients unlock growth.
• What makes a key strategic partnership both from a CDMO, and a sponsor perspective.
• The taboo subject of pricing and how it can be used to help unlock commercial positioning, and excellence.
• Common mistakes in BD teams, and the importance of value positioning.
• The hottest segments in the market right now, and some of the competitive drivers in today's market.

Kaan leads the firm’s Healthcare B2B and Pharma Services business globally, encompassing CDMOs, CROs, bioprocessing solutions, drug delivery, packaging, and more.

He specializes in delivering end-to-end commercial strategies for CDMOs, advising on growth initiatives and supporting clients throughout the entire lead-to-deal process—from marketing and sales to proposal management and deal optimization.

Molecule to Market is also sponsored by Bora Pharma (boracdmo.com) and Charles River (www.criver.com), and supported by Lead Candidate. 

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!

Pharma services market sentiment at the midpoint of 25

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Adam Siebert, Managing Director and Partner at L.E.K. Consulting.

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

• Adam's journey from academic to commercial, and what helped him transition into 'life science enablers".
• How pandemic demand has left our sector with a huge over capacity issue and market imbalance.
• Some positive signals for the second half of 2025 after a period of geopolitical chaos, and a bumpy rollercoaster.
• Even thought biotech funding has largely returned... how decreasing clinical trials, a shifting of therapeutic focus, and the concentration of investments on fewer, higher value deals is impacting pharma services.
• The value of building a reputation in one in-demand modality area before extending into other modalities. And why the CDMO is at an inflexion point...

Adam is a Managing Director and Partner in L.E.K. Consulting’s New York office and a member of the Life Sciences practice. He has been with L.E.K. for over eight years, and has experience across diagnostics and research tools, bioprocessing and pharma services, and emerging, mid-cap and large pharma. Adam has helped a number of clients in the life sciences industry with growth strategy, life cycle management, portfolio optimization and M&A projects. Adam holds a Bachelor of Science from Boston College and a Ph.D. from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

 

 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 also sponsored by Bora Pharma (boracdmo.com) and Charles River (www.criver.com), and supported by ramarketing.