PharmaSource Podcast

“There are 437 active clinical trials in radiopharmaceuticals, and 100 companies developing them. If your logistics are not better, there is no other differentiator. You need to compete by experience.”
When Kostja Paschalidis and his co-founders left their roles developing one of the leading radiopharmaceutical products, they recognised a fundamental shift in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Unlike traditional drugs where marketing drives commercial success, radiopharmaceuticals demand something entirely different: flawless service delivery.
As co-founder and head of systems and logistics at Firm, a design consultancy specialising in radiopharmaceutical services, Kostja has identified why operational excellence—not clinical superiority—will determine market winners.
In the latest PharmaSource podcast episode, he explains why radiopharmaceutical companies must become service-centric organisations to succeed and how a lack of standardisation and suitable technology creates barriers to scale.

“We’re not trying to be everything for everyone. Our specialized focus has been very exciting for me.”
Franco Negron, CEO of Simtra BioPharma Solutions, has transformed a 65-year sterile manufacturing legacy into an independent CDMO since the company’s carve-out from Baxter International (Baxter) in October 2023. Franco has led over $500 million in capital investments to double capacity and create mirrored capabilities across sites in Indiana, US, and Halle/Westfalen, Germany.
Franco brings industry experience from Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, and Patheon, which became part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, where he helped shape integrated CDMO strategies.
In this PharmaSource podcast, recorded at CPHI 2025, Franco explains how Simtra is navigating supply chain challenges, tariff uncertainties, and injectable manufacturing complexity, from GLP-1s to antibody drug conjugates.
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“Process chemistry alone is no longer the whole story—it needs to be connected with engineering solutions, digital tools, and data utilization.”
Stefan Randl, Chief Scientific Officer at Siegfried, joined the Swiss-based CDMO in January 2025 after 16 years at Evonik, where he led innovation management for healthcare, ran drug substance operations in the US, and headed sales across Asia.
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“Biotechs need flexibility and have limited budgets, while big pharma looks for long-term partnerships, reliability, scalability, and new technologies.”

Luis Berrade, Senior Director of Global Biologics Testing Sales at Charles River Laboratories, has spent his career helping pharmaceutical and biotech companies bring therapies to market faster and safer. With a PhD in medicinal chemistry and experience spanning both contract manufacturing and testing services, Luis now leads Charles River’s global biologics testing commercial strategy, working with companies of all sizes to navigate the complex regulatory landscape.

In an episode of the PharmaSource podcast, Luis shares his insights on when sponsors should start thinking about testing strategy, common mistakes that create bottlenecks, and how emerging technologies like next-generation sequencing are reshaping the biologics testing landscape.

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PharmaSource analysis of 732 industry announcements reveals massive investment in U.S. capacity, with partnerships dominating the news cycle and advanced therapy manufacturing reaching industrial scale
The pharmaceutical contract manufacturing landscape underwent a fundamental readjustment in 2025, marked by record investment flows, accelerated U.S. reshoring, and a decisive shift toward integrated technology platforms.
In this episode, PharmaSource's very own Tamnna Thakur sits down with Editor Dora Wells to break down the year's most significant trends. From the $18.48 billion that poured into U.S. facilities to WuXi Biologics' 20 announcements despite regulatory headwinds. They analyze what the 732 tracked announcements reveal about where the industry is heading.

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