ISPE proudly revealed the 2026 Facility of the Year Award (FOYA) winners at this year’s Europe Annual Conference. These exceptional companies were honored for their innovation in engineering and design, their meaningful contributions to local communities, and their lasting impact on patients around the world.
AstraZeneca
Category: Social Impact – Unmet Medical Needs
Location: Rockville, Maryland, USA
Project: Commercial Cell Therapy Facility
The project mission was to accelerate AstraZeneca’s ambition to make next-generation cell therapy a reality, scaling globally to meet patient demand with uninterrupted access. Designed for 24/7 operations, the facility will deliver autologous CAR-T therapies for up to 4,000 cancer patients annually, supporting pivotal clinical trials and commercial-scale GMP manufacturing. Sustainability was a top priority throughout every stage of facility design and construction and into operations—ensuring that environmental responsibility was integrated alongside resiliency and patient access.
Bayer AG
Category: Operations – Operational Excellence
Location: Leverkusen, Germany
Project: SOLIDA-1
The SOLIDA-1 facility is a next-generation pharmaceutical manufacturing plant that redefines industry standards in modularity, adaptability, digitalization, and automation. Located in Leverkusen, Germany, SOLIDA-1 is a strategic cornerstone in Bayer’s mission of “Health for All, Hunger for None.” By combining cutting-edge technology with an unprecedented level of end-to-end automation, the facility is designed to bring innovative, complex medicines to patients faster than ever before, ensuring that critical therapies reach those who need them most.
Bayer AG
Category: Pharma 4.0™
Location: Leverkusen, Germany
Project: SOLIDA-1
The SOLIDA-1 facility is a next-generation pharmaceutical manufacturing plant that redefines industry standards in modularity, adaptability, digitalization, and automation. Located in Leverkusen, Germany, SOLIDA-1 is a strategic cornerstone in Bayer’s mission of “Health for All, Hunger for None.” By combining cutting-edge technology with an unprecedented level of end-to-end automation, the facility is designed to bring innovative, complex medicines to patients faster than ever before, ensuring that critical therapies reach those who need them most.
BSP Pharmaceuticals SpA
Category: Supply Chain
Location: Latina, Italy
Project: An integrated state-of-the-art site for ADCs DS and DP, from IND to commercial supply
Since its foundation, BSP Pharmaceuticals has been fully dedicated to oncology and complex therapies, building an advanced and highly specialized facility for ADC designed to meet the most demanding requirements of innovation, quality and patient safety.
Chugai Pharma Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
Category: Honorable Mention
Location: Fujieda, Shizuoka, Japan
Project: FJ3 Project
The project aimed to boost API production capacity by creating a new manufacturing facility at the Fujieda Plant. Completed in 36 months, it adhered to global GMP standards and included innovative containment solutions, automation technologies, and a seismic design for earthquake resilience, ensuring flexibility for diverse products and processes.
Eli Lilly & Company
Category: Operations – Project Execution
Location: Concord, North Carolina, USA
Project: Lilly Concord
Lilly’s Concord manufacturing site exemplifies advanced pharmaceutical production through cutting-edge automation and digital systems. Engineered as a paperless, automated facility, it integrates robotics and electronic execution for efficient, transparent manufacturing. This connected, data-driven approach ensures quality, compliance, and operational resilience in delivering medicines.
FUJIFILM Biotechnologies
Category: Honorable Mention
Location: Holly Springs, North Carolina, USA
Project: FUJIFILM Biotechnologies Holly Springs - Galaxy Project
The mission was to build a transformative biomanufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina and in doing so creating a scalable, resilient, and rapid drug manufacturing hub that could meet global needs with speed and precision.
Hepalink Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd.
Category: Innovation – Novel Technology
Location: Shenzhen, China
Project: Hepalink Pingshan New Pre-filled Syringe Manufacturing Facility
Establish a 5G-enabled Smart Manufacturing Hub for Enoxaparin Sodium injections, producing 330 million units annually. The mission is to transform the pharmaceutical industry through 5G integration, AI-driven inspection, and edge computing, ensuring compliance with global GMP standards and enhancing the supply chain for critical anticoagulants.
Sanofi S.A.
Category: Innovation – Facility of the Future
Location: Neuville-sur-Saône, France & Tuas, Singapore
Project: Modulus
Modulus by Sanofi aims to revolutionize biopharmaceutical manufacturing with a fully modular, digitally native production platform. It enhances agility and sustainability, enabling rapid transitions and simultaneous production of multiple products. The goal is to deliver life-changing medicines to patients swiftly and responsively, setting a new standard in biomanufacturing.
Takeda
Category: Social Impact – Sustainability Efforts
Location: Vienna, Austria
Project: AHEAD (Advanced Heat Pump Demonstrator)
Takeda’s AHEAD project is an innovative heat pump system that generates high-pressure steam using renewable electricity, reducing CO₂ emissions by 1,600 tons annually. It showcases large-scale decarbonization potential in the pharmaceutical industry and emphasizes collaboration by sharing knowledge to inspire sustainable innovation globally.