Pharmaceutical manufacturing takes centre stage on Day three of The Future of Bio/Pharmaceutical Analysis Virtual Summit 2026 as speakers examine how digital technologies, artificial intelligence and advanced production methods are reshaping what is possible in the field.
Day three of the Future of Bio/Pharma Analysis virtual summit turns its focus to the manufacturing floor — examining how digital technologies, artificial intelligence and advanced production methods are reshaping what is possible in pharmaceutical manufacturing, and what it takes to make the business case for change.
Taking place on 25 June 2026, the day brings together academics, industry practitioners and technology specialists across three sessions, each addressing a different dimension of the same central challenge: translating the promise of manufacturing innovation into practical, defensible reality.
Digital transformation and pharma manufacturing
12:00 PM – 1:15 PM
The opening panel sets the scene with a broad examination of digital transformation across pharma manufacturing. From digital twins and AI to the Internet of Things, individual technologies are being steadily integrated into production environments — but the pace and shape of that integration vary considerably across the industry.
Panellists Dr Raminderpal Singh of 20/15 Visioneers, Ziyaur Rahman from Texas A&M University, and Doris Lacej will examine where these technologies are delivering real value, where adoption remains uneven, and what an integrated digital manufacturing strategy might look like in practice.
Boosting manufacturing efficiency and reliability with AI
1:30 PM – 2:45 PM
The afternoon’s first session moves from the landscape view to a sharper focus on artificial intelligence. Moving beyond AI as a buzzword, this panel will explore concrete applications across the pharma manufacturing value chain — from process optimisation and predictive maintenance to quality assurance and supply chain resilience.
Sulaf Assi of Liverpool John Moores University, Vasiliki Kalodimou from Iaso, and Jason Gibson of Turnitin will discuss how AI implementations are being designed, deployed and evaluated, and what separates pilot-stage experiments from sustainable, scaled solutions.
Making the financial pitch for continuous manufacturing: thinking like a CFO
The science and engineering case for continuous manufacturing (CM) over traditional batch production is well established — and FDA support, alongside a growing body of pilot evidence, has only reinforced it. Yet adoption has proceeded more slowly than many expected. A significant part of the explanation lies not in the technology itself but in how its business case is constructed and communicated to financial decision-makers.
Professor Clifford V. Rossi of the University of Maryland will draw on methodologies from financial services to address this gap directly. His session will demonstrate how to reframe a CM investment decision as a distribution of net present values, using simulation-based modelling to give decision-makers greater confidence when assessing uncertain capital and operating costs. The aim is practical: to equip attendees with a financially rigorous approach that speaks the language of CFOs and senior management, not just engineers.
Taken together, day three makes a compelling case that manufacturing transformation in pharma is as much about financial literacy and strategic communication as it is about technological capability.
Registration for the Future of Bio/Pharma Analysis virtual summit is open now.
No comments yet