ISPE’s FOYA program recognizes state-of-the-art projects using innovative technologies to improve the quality of products, reduce the cost of producing high-quality medicines, and demonstrate advances in project delivery for the benefit of humanity.
ISPE has announced the establishment of the ISPE Radiopharmaceuticals Community of Practice (CoP). This initiative intends to respond to the rapid growth and unique complexities of the radiopharmaceuticals field, which is critically advancing precision medicine for conditions such as cancer.
Advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) are redefining what’s possible in medicine, but their promise comes with a challenge the industry can no longer afford to postpone: how to scale manufacturing in a way that is cost-effective, resilient, and patient-ready.
The following insights were presented by Ib Alstrup, GxP-IT Medicines Inspector, Danish Medicines Agency, at the 2025 ISPE Pharma 4.0™ Conference on 9 December in Barcelona, Spain, and summarized.
In each issue of Pharmaceutical Engineering®, we introduce a member of the ISPE staff who provides ISPE members with key information and services. Meet Gabbi Jimenez, Graphic Designer, Marketing & Communications team.
In today’s life sciences landscape, process control systems (PCSs) have become the backbone of modern manufacturing. These computerized systems monitor and influence physical processes in real time, ensuring that safe, high-quality products reach patients around the world. Because PCSs often interact directly with equipment, facilities, and materials, they carry significant responsibility in...
The new ISPE Good Practice Guide: Continuous Manufacturing of Biological Products shows how continuous biomanufacturing (CBM) becomes compelling when it delivers reliable, scalable, decision-grade data that tie directly to financial outcomes and operational agility. It also provides regulatory considerations and life-cycle management concepts for the integration of future technologies that are...
What if your next digital investment did not deliver the transformation you expected? For many pharmaceutical companies, that is the reality.
The rapid rise of cellular therapies is transforming modern medicine and creating new challenges for manufacturers. Unlike traditional biopharmaceuticals, cell-based products demand innovative approaches to aseptic processing, process closure, automation, and scalability.
Chip Bennett, Senior Director at Project Farma, is a Project Management Institute®–certified Project Management Professional (PMP), recognized industry expert, speaker, and published author. He is a consultant with more than 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and regulated non-pharmaceutical industries and has expertise in risk-based commissioning and qualification...
Stephanie White is a pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturing leader with more than 23 years of experience helping teams turn high-stakes projects into confident, inspection-ready operations. She now serves as a Commissioning, Qualification, and Validation (CQV) and Operational Readiness Lead at A-Bio, a consulting firm, supporting sterile manufacturing and complex capital programs. Her...
David Estapé, Chair of the 2026 ISPE Europe Annual Conference, provides an overview of how this year’s conference—to be held 20–22 April in Copenhagen, Denmark, and virtually—was designed to truly reflect the current pulse of the pharmaceutical...
The pharmaceutical industry continues to advance how commissioning and qualification (C&Q) is executed across the life cycle of facilities, systems, and equipment. ISPE remains at the center of this global movement—strengthening guidance, expanding training, and fostering new forums for knowledge exchange among members worldwide.
In each issue of Pharmaceutical Engineering®, we introduce a member of the ISPE staff who provides ISPE members with key information and services. Meet Audrey Ballash, Accountant, Accounting team.
Keith Weseli, Conference Chair, gives an overview of a dynamic agenda that includes world-class speakers discussing the latest innovations, regulatory updates, and best practices in aseptic technology. This year’s conference is designed to address the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing the industry.
2025 was a remarkable year—one defined by resilience, growth, and meaningful celebration. Although the industry faced its share of challenges, our membership remained strong and steadfast.
The 2026 ISPE Facilities of the Future (FOF) Conference will be held 2–3 February in San Diego, California, United States, and virtually. Lindsey Daniel, the conference’s Executive Chair, offers advice and shares what attendees can expect at the upcoming conference.
Pharmaceutical Engineering® is proud to announce that the 2024 Roger F. Sherwood Article of the Year is “3R Initiative Within Roche’s Global QC Network” (November/December 2024) by Sven M. Deutschmann, PhD.
ISPE names CSL Behring the 2025 ISPE Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA) Overall Winner for its Project Aurora Plasma Base Fractionation Facility (Facility F). CSL Behring was honored with this prestigious award recognizing innovation and excellence in pharmaceutical facility projects, as the FOYA program celebrated its 20th anniversary.
Thanabalan “Thana” Subramanian is Head of the Digital Quality team in the quality, regulatory, digital consultancy firm Product Life Group. He is responsible for a team of 20 consultants and supports the Digital Quality Center of Excellence, covering IT compliance, computer software validation (CSV), data integrity, CSV auditing, and CSV training. Before joining Integrity, he worked for...
The ISPE International Honor Awards provide the opportunity for all of us to recognize and celebrate the dedicated professionals volunteering countless hours to support ISPE in its mission.
Frank Henrichmann is an expert in quality management, computerized system validation, and compliance, especially in clinical trials and pharmacovigilance. With over 25 years of experience in quality functions within the pharmaceutical industry, he has gained deep expertise in implementing and validating computerized systems within GxP-regulated environments, having worked with organizations...
The 2025 ISPE D/A/CH workshop on “Pharma’s Journey to Digital Manufacturing and Supply” united pharma leaders, technology experts, and regulatory authorities for three days of intense exchange on the digital transformation of our industry.
ISPE elected a new 2025–2026 International Board of Directors, which is responsible for the governance and strategic direction of ISPE.
In each issue of Pharmaceutical Engineering®, we introduce a member of the ISPE staff who provides ISPE members with key information and services. Meet Gabriela Kantor, Technical Editor, Publications team.
Advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) represent a revolutionary frontier in medicine, offering life-changing treatments for conditions previously deemed incurable. However, the intricate nature of these therapies, from their unique raw materials to complex manufacturing and logistics, presents significant challenges and inherent risks, including how to best develop validation methods and...
The newly published ISPE Good Practice Guide: Control Strategy Development for Continuous Manufacturing of Oral Solid Dosage Forms encourages broader adoption of continuous manufacturing (CM).
Michelle Vuolo is currently Head of Quality at Tulip Interfaces, Inc., a platform developer that enables manufacturers of many industries to build digital content to manage their operations. Before joining Tulip, Michelle spent more than 24 years in the biopharmaceutical and medical devices industries in quality control (QC) laboratories, engineering technical support, quality assurance...
Stephanie Stärkle is a project engineer at VTU Engineering in Switzerland, where she leads engineering projects from concept to execution in GMP-regulated environments including cost estimation, equipment design and specification, deadline management, and coordination with cross-functional stakeholders such as vendors, quality assurance, operations, and qualification. She holds a bachelor’s...
Water and steam are essential in the pharmaceutical industry. Both are used for multiple purposes, including cleaning and sterilizing equipment, laboratory activities, and as an ingredient.
In each issue of Pharmaceutical Engineering®, we introduce a member of the ISPE staff who provides ISPE members with key information and services. Meet Eric Brown, Digital Developer in the Professional Development Department.
With nearly 2,000 drugs currently in shortage across the UK—a staggering increase from 1,608 just one year prior—the pharmaceutical industry faces an unprecedented crisis that demands immediate attention.
The rapid pace of digital innovation, offers plenty of unprecedented opportunities as well as a few unforeseen challenges. The ISPE Pharma 4.0™ Conference has been helping life science industry professionals embrace opportunities and overcome challenges since 2017. This year’s conference is no exception. We’ll examine EU GMP Chapter 4 Annex 11 and Annex 22’s new focus on emerging technologies...
ISPE successfully assisted Health Canada with International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) Q13 implementation training in virtual sessions with 170 participants.
In each issue of Pharmaceutical Engineering®, we introduce a member of the ISPE staff who provides ISPE members with key information and services. Meet Amanda Banninga, Program Manager, Conferences & Digital Engagements.
As professionals in pharmaceutical engineering, we are challenged to develop medications and therapies more quickly and less expensively than ever before while maintaining safety and efficacy. It can be hard to know where to turn when you have an issue you cannot resolve or difficult to find your next bit of inspiration. The ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo is a great opportunity for us to come...
The new ISPE GAMP® Guide: Artificial Intelligence provides a comprehensive, state-of-the-art best practice framework to efficiently and effectively achieve high-quality AI-enabled...
The pharmaceutical industry is under increasing pressure to develop new therapies at a faster pace, while lowering drug costs, enhancing quality, and maintaining safety and a robust supply chain.
Nina S. Cauchon is Director Regulatory Affairs (RA) Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) at Amgen Inc. where she leads RA-CMC advocacy and external engagement. She has experience leading both early phase and commercial programs, including small molecules and biologics. Her areas of interest are regulatory challenges for innovative modalities and emerging technologies, CMC aspects of...
Celeste Frankenfeld Lamm encourages young professionals to identify and pursue the aspects of their jobs they feel passionate about, “The things that get you out of the bed in the morning tend to be the areas where you are going to perform strongly. Once you’ve identified them, it’s important to make your own opportunities. Let leadership know your work passions, express interest in teams or...
The 2025 Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA) category winners were announced in May at the ISPE Europe Annual Conference held in London, England. As FOYA celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, it honors 17 finalists whose projects span 12 countries and five continents—a true global showcase of innovation.
In each issue of Pharmaceutical Engineering®, we introduce a member of the ISPE staff who provides ISPE members with key information and services. Meet Katie LeChase, Director of Communications.
As the Senior Director of Personalized Supply Chain at Cencora World Courier (formerly AmerisourceBergen), Andrea Zobel leads the cell and gene therapy (CGT) and direct-to-patient service lines for this specialty logistics provider. With a background that includes experience gained across academia, pharmaceutical services, and clinical trials logistics, Andrea focuses on defining strategy,...
Ben Stevens serves as Director of Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) Policy and Advocacy at GSK. He has over 15 years of experience in the industry having worked for Alnylam Pharmaceuticals where he led the global CMC regulatory development of vutrisiran (a treatment for polyneuropathy and cardiomyopathy), and oversaw its US New Drug Application and the EU Marketing Authorization....
This year, the ISPE Singapore Affiliate proudly marks 25 years of advancing pharmaceutical engineering and technology. It has played a pivotal role in shaping the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries in the region, fostering a strong community focused on education, collaboration, and innovation. As we reach this remarkable milestone, we reflect on the journey and look ahead to an...
ISPE participated in a Good Manufacturing Practice and Good Distribution Practice Inspectors Working Group (GMDP IWG) meeting hosted by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on 13 March. The group included global stakeholders, including senior inspectors from across Europe and observers from global regulatory bodies such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the World Health...
The 2025 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo scheduled for 26–29 October in Charlotte, North Carolina, US, will give attendees the knowledge and expertise to tackle future challenges in the pharmaceutical industry while helping them connect with colleagues who will become invaluable professional resources.
The pharmaceutical industry is experiencing a significant talent shortage, particularly in the areas of manufacturing and regulatory affairs. As innovation in biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and personalized medicine accelerates, the demand for a highly trained workforce continues to outpace supply.
ISPE’s Q12 Implementation Team continued its series of training events with a well-attended course for Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA) in November.
The Dr. Antonio Moreira Memorial Professional Development Fund was established in 2024 in honor of Dr. Moreira, a former Chair of the ISPE Foundation Board of Directors who passed away that same year. As a 20-year member of ISPE, he was a dedicated leader who consistently championed the ISPE Foundation and tirelessly promoted the importance of student development and engagement.
Niranjan S. Kulkarni, PhD, was honored with the ISPE Max Seales Yonker Member of the Year Award at the 2024 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo in Orlando, Florida, US.
Effective containment systems in a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility are essential to protect the health of workers, the environment, and patients receiving the medications. Particles released into the facility can cause adverse side effects to facility employees, and particles released outside the facility can harm the atmosphere and nearby waterways.
The ISPE Commissioning & Qualification (C&Q) Community of Practice (CoP) conducted a survey in 2023 on the adoption of integrated C&Q, specifically on the use of paperless digital systems for planning, executing, and reporting C&Q activities. The survey revealed that 74% of respondents planned to use Digital Validation Tools (DVTs) for C&Q by 2024.
ISPE has launched a new feature on ISPE Engage, providing members with a portal to explore volunteer opportunities across the organization.
The 2025 ISPE Biotechnology Conference, scheduled for 2–3 June in Boston, MA, US, and virtually, will bring together leading pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturers, technology providers, academic...
ISPE is an officially recognized stakeholder of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the agency responsible for the monitoring of medicines in the European Union. One of the ways ISPE helps its members stay at the forefront of industry challenges and changes is by interacting with regulatory authorities in the countries our members represent.
Massimiliano Cesarini, MEng, was named CEO of Biogenera SpA, Bologna, Italy in 2024. He began his career at Duferco Engineering in energy generation, then moved to Comecer Group, holding roles as project and product manager, and global sales manager for the pharma and advanced therapy medicinal product (ATMP) division. He eventually joined Omnia Technologies Group establishing the Omnia Life...
Krisha Patel is Co-Founder of Assurea LLC, a digital compliance consulting firm that provides IT and validation services, software assurance, and custom artificial intelligence solutions for biotech companies. With a degree in bioprocessing science and more than 12 years of experience in computer system validation and quality assurance, Patel has worked with cell and gene therapy companies,...
In each issue of Pharmaceutical Engineering®, we introduce a member of the ISPE staff who provides ISPE members with key information and services. Meet Xuandai Hoang, Senior Member Services Coordinator in the Membership Department.
In each issue of Pharmaceutical Engineering®, we introduce a member of the ISPE staff who provides ISPE members with key information and services. Meet Isabella Stoup, the ISPE Foundation, Senior Coordinator, Development.
Trish Melton, PhD, has over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, working in both manufacturing and service organizations. She is the Founder and Managing Director of MIME Solutions Ltd., a consultancy that has been providing support to the global pharmaceutical industry for 21 years in areas such as project, quality, and risk management, as well as in developing...
Ferdinando E. Aspesi, PhD, is a Senior Partner at Bridge Associates International, LLC, New Jersey, USA, where he advises pharmaceutical companies on quality strategy, organizational design, and quality and compliance issues. In his more than 44 years of experience in the industry, Aspesi has worked in active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and drug products quality assurance and quality...
The 2025 ISPE Aseptic Conference will be held 17–18 March in Washington, DC, and virtually. Christa Myers, the Conference Chair, offers advice and shares what attendees can expect at the upcoming event.
The 2025 ISPE Facilities of the Future (FoF) Conference will be held 27–28 January in San Francisco, California, US, and virtually. Mike Martin, the conference’s Executive Chair, offers advice and shares what attendees can expect at the upcoming conference.
In each issue of Pharmaceutical Engineering®, we introduce a member of the ISPE staff who provides ISPE members with key information and services. Meet Laneisha Walker, Manager, Sales Operations.
The article “Comparability Considerations for Cellular and Gene Therapy Products,” published in the November/December 2023 issue of Pharmaceutical Engineering, has been named...
Since our inception, the ISPE Foundation has continually invested in people and helped shape the future of the pharmaceutical industry. We continued this momentum last year and hope you will join us in supporting the workforce of the future in 2025.
At the 2024 Facility of the Year Award (FOYA) Celebratory Banquet, ISPE announced the 2024 overall FOYA winner: Eli Lilly Kinsale Limited’s IE2b project. In addition to winning the overall award, Eli Lilly’s IE2b project was recognized as the 2024 Innovation category winner for its innovation in synthetic peptide manufacturing.
In the ever-evolving landscape of the pharmaceutical industry, the Women in Pharma® Steering Committee has taken significant steps to foster collaboration, share insights, and strengthen community engagement among the ISPE community. Over the past year, our commitment to these initiatives has opened doors for Women in Pharma Affiliate and Chapter leaders to connect, exchange best practices,...
Brandi Stockton is Founder of The Triality Group, LLC, where she provides quality, regulatory, and compliance consulting services for life sciences companies. She has more than 20 years of GxP experience, with a specialization in computer systems quality and data integrity. Brandi joined ISPE in 2014. In addition to being chair of the GAMP Americas Community of Practice, she is a member of the...
Mark Cherry is the IT Compliance Director and GXP subject matter expert at AstraZeneca. A chartered engineer, he has been with AstraZeneca for 22 years and was previously with GlaxoSmithKline in a variety of computer compliance and engineering roles. He has been a member of ISPE since 1999.
In addition to serving on the GAMP Europe Community of Practice (CoP) as Chair, he led the team...
It is a rare and wonderful legacy to have substantially improved your chosen industry and to have bestowed a name on an initiative that, 30 years later, has become synonymous with best practice. This article celebrates both these pivotal achievements of Anthony (Tony) Trill, who passed in 2024.
The new ISPE International Board of Directors was introduced, the gavel was passed to a new Chair, and Honor Award Winners were announced on 15 October 2024 during the 2024 ISPE Membership Meeting and Awards Lunch in Orlando, US, during the 2024 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo.
Since its original publication in 2009, the ISPE Good Practice Guide: Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning has been helping engineers design heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems that meet regulatory compliance while maintaining product safety, worker safety, and comfort.
The ISPE Japan Affiliate held the “Young Professionals Seminar” to support the growth of recent graduates. Starting on 14 July 2023, this seminar spanned four sessions and took place at the Nihonbashi Life Science Building and Taiyo Pharma Tech Takatsuki Plant. Led by ISPE Emerging Leaders, the seminar aimed to cultivate the next generation of leaders in the pharmaceutical industry.
Governments around the world have made international commitments to reduce their environmental impact and protect nature. Policy frameworks have been established to facilitate and drive progress against agreed-upon targets. These directly impact end-to-end activities for the biopharmaceutical, pharmaceutical, and medical device sectors, including research and development, manufacturing,...
ISPE has been honored with a 2024 APEX Award of Excellence in Writing for “ChatGPT, BARD, and Other Large Language Models Meet Regulated Pharma” by Frederick Blumenthal, Martin Heitmann, Stefan Münch, and Brandi Stockton published in the July/August 2023 issue of Pharmaceutical Engineering®.
ISPE recently announced ISPE AI®, an initiative aimed at aiding the pharmaceutical industry in realizing the potential of artificial intelligence (AI). The initiative will include a multifaceted approach to...
In each issue of Pharmaceutical Engineering®, we introduce a member of the ISPE staff who provides ISPE members with key information and services. Meet Nada Elsayed, Content Development Manager on the Publications Team.
This year, the ISPE Foundation’s Professional Development Grants program, supported by the Moderna Foundation, enabled 24 STEM students and Emerging Leaders to attend the 2024 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo with all expenses covered.
We lost two members of the ISPE family this year, both of whom played instrumental roles in shaping the pharmaceutical industry and ISPE.
For more than 22 years, James P. Wabby has dedicated his career to quality operations, regulatory compliance, and regulatory affairs pertaining to medical device technology, medicinal delivery platforms, complex generics, companion diagnostics, digital medicine, and combination product areas. In 2017, during one of the biggest regulatory changes within the European Union in over 20 years,...
Ester Lovsin Barle’s journey from veterinary lecturer in Slovenia to the Global Head of Product Sustainability and Stewardship at Takeda Pharmaceuticals in Switzerland was fueled by her curiosity and passion for continual learning and a desire to help others do the same. “We are never at the end of our learning curve, and it’s so important to continue to learn and be open-minded about new...
Established in 2004, the Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA) recognize state-of-the-art projects utilizing new, innovative technologies to improve the quality of products, reduce the cost of producing high-quality medicines, and demonstrate advances in project delivery.
The 2024 ISPE Pharma 4.0™ and Annex 1 Conference will be held 10–11 December in Rome, Italy, and virtually. Richard Denk and Line Lundsberg-Nielsen, the conference’s Executive Chairs, offer advice...
Anil Mathai first heard about ISPE 30 years ago. “I attended Drexel University, where you are required to complete three cooperative education jobs. One of mine was for Rhône-Poulenc Rorer, Inc. in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. While I was there, I learned about validation and decided that I wanted to be in pharmaceuticals as a chemical engineer.”
After completing her doctoral degree at Oklahoma State University, Sarah Pope Miksinski received a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health. While working there, she realized that research was not the best career path for her.
In each issue of Pharmaceutical Engineering®, we introduce a member of the ISPE staff who provides ISPE members with key information and services. Meet Wendy McGhee, Health Authority Outreach Manager in the Regulatory Operations group.
In 2023, ISPE launched an expansive and significant initiative, Enabling Global Pharmaceutical Innovation: Delivering for Patients, to address the barriers to technological innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. The first activity of the initiative was to conduct a three-part survey of ISPE members to understand the circumstances and confirm the sources that create barriers to...
Each year, ISPE recognizes innovation in pharmaceutical facilities with the Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA). The 2024 FOYA submission finalists were announced at the 2024 ISPE Aseptic Conference in Vienna, Austria. Finalists for the 2024 awards highlight the continued progress and innovation at play in pharmaceutical manufacturing worldwide and across modalities. From projects tailored to...
The ISPE International Company of the Year award recognizes outstanding leadership and support provided by a company, as reflected by significant active participation in the Society’s committees, Communities of Practice (CoPs), programs, and activities, as well as its support of employee participation in ISPE. The winner for 2023, Roche, was announced at the 2023 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo...
In each issue of Pharmaceutical Engineering®, we introduce a member of the ISPE staff who provides ISPE members with key information and services. Meet Matt Lehmann, Custom Training Manager, Professional Development.
This year, the ISPE Foundation made great strides in its mission of fueling global health equity by fostering access to knowledge and nurturing diverse talent.
Growing up on a farm, Allen Koester thought he would design farm equipment after earning his degree in mechanical engineering.
In 2019, ISPE released the Second Edition of the ISPE Baseline® Guide Vol 5: Commissioning and Qualification. This guide mirrors the industry’s evolution toward harmonizing with latest...
The new ISPE Good Practice Guide: Unique Identification of Glass Primary Containers in Pharmaceutical Fill and Finish Operations involved a cross-functional team of industry experts and professionals from parenteral/injectable medicine manufacturing. The team included industry competitors who worked together to establish a common approach. They provided a balanced, industrywide perspective on...
Rod Freeman started his career in the pharma-ceutical industry as an analytical chemist.
In April 2024, ISPE published the ISPE Guide: 503A Compounding - Regulatory Basis and Industry Good Practices for Pharmacies, adding to the growing body of knowledge ISPE is producing for the pharmaceutical compounding industry. Written by industry experts and reviewed by practitioners in the area, the guide provides an overview of relevant US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations and...
The 2024 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo will be held 13–16 October in Orlando, Florida, and virtually. David Churchward is the conference’s Executive Chair. He offers advice and shares what attendees can expect at the upcoming conference.
In each issue of Pharmaceutical Engineering®, we introduce a member of the ISPE staff who provides ISPE members with key information and services. Meet Matt Lehmann, Custom Training Manager, Professional Development.
The 2024 ISPE Facilities of the Future Conference opened on 29 January in San Francisco, California, with a series of six keynote presentations on innovations that are leading to advanced...
The 2024 ISPE Biotechnology Conference will be held 17–18 June in Boston, Massachusetts, and virtually. Phillip R. Smith is the conference’s Planning Chair. He shares what attendees can expect at the upcoming...
One of the primary technical objectives of the ISPE Pharma 4.0™ Plug and Produce Working Group is to assist the Pharma 4.0™ digital transformation by enabling seamless integration and interoperability between all systems components and operational technology to advance the overall digital maturity toward predictive and adaptable operations.
The ISPE Guide: Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products – Allogeneic Cell Therapy and the ISPE Guide: Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products – Recombinant AAV Comparability and Lifecyle Management were published earlier this year. These guides add to ISPE’s library of knowledge in the growing and ever-evolving advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) field.
Frances (Fran) M. Zipp was awarded the ISPE Joseph X. Phillips Professional Achievement Award at the 2023 ISPE Annual Meeting and Expo. The award is named in honor of Joe Phillips, longtime supporter of ISPE and a leader in establishing the Society as an “integrator” of industry and regulators, both during his years of service with the FDA and later when he became International Regulatory...
Laura-Ann Chin has more than 12 years of international and domestic contract and hands-on process engineering experience in the design and construction of current GMP facilities in the US, Europe, and Asia. She specializes in single-use solutions and modular technologies for scale-up, scale-out, and technology transfer in maximizing the performance of advanced therapy medicinal products,...
Glenn Lawrence’s first position at Merck & Co. was as a shift engineer for a large factory in Rahway, New Jersey. It was a great learning ground for chemical processing and automation. Glenn was in operations when he was asked to join the engineering department, where he did plant design for active pharmaceutical ingredients and vaccines. He was then asked to take over the engineering...
The ISPE Baseline® Guide Volume 5: Commissioning and Qualification (Second Edition) framework has gained significant attention, use, and adoption since the...
The new year is here and, with that, another International Women’s Day approaches! This incredibly important global movement, which takes place every 8 March, celebrates women’s achievements, raises awareness about discrimination, and advocates for accelerated equality and gender parity. ISPE’s Women in Pharma® community strives to accomplish all these goals through regional and international...
The 2023 ISPE Pharma 4.0™ and Annex 1 Conference was held in Barcelona, Spain, 11–12 December. Topics discussed included transforming operations, quality, and maintenance with Pharma 4.0™ principles...
Although he didn’t know it at the time, Nathan Temple’s service as a naval officer on the USS Asheville in Hawaii prepared him perfectly for a career in pharmaceutical engineering. “You learn so much, so quickly, on a submarine.”
ISPE has more than 21,000 members in more than 120 countries worldwide. As an ISPE member, you have access to this network, which can be exciting and overwhelming at the same time. Connecting at the local level unlocks the unique benefits that your local Affiliate or Chapter holds. Not only is this a career game changer, but it also opens doors of opportunity to experience your ISPE membership...
The impact people have on others’ lives is not always obvious. For many, the Advil mini pill might not seem like a big deal, but for people who have trouble swallowing pills, like cancer patients, the tiny pill has made a huge difference in their ability to manage pain. It’s projects like that, as well as treatments for bladder cancer and transthyretin amyloidosis, that Tammy Spain is most...
The newly released third edition of the ISPE Baseline® Guide: Volume 6 – Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Facilities reinforces the concepts described in the second...
In a prerecorded interview shown during a keynote session at the 2023 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo, Tom Hartman, ISPE President and CEO, and Dr. Robert M. Califf discussed several far-ranging and important topics. Califf, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 25th Commissioner is a recognized expert in cardiovascular medicine, health outcomes research,...
Pharmaceutical Engineering® magazine is proud to announce that the 2022 Roger F. Sherwood Article of the Year is “Supporting Cell and Gene Therapy through...
On 19 October, the ISPE Foundation hosted its 2nd Annual Golf Tournament at Wildhorse Golf Course following this year’s Annual Meeting & Expo in Las Vegas.
The new ISPE Good Practice Guide: Process Gases, Second Edition presents recent advances in construction materials and updates on current good practices. It was revised based on the latest International Organization for Standardization in Pharmaceuticals, American Society for Testing and Materials, and American Society of Mechanical Engineers standards and is aligned with the latest regulatory...
As part of the 2023 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo, the 2023–2024 ISPE International Board of Directors was introduced and the gavel was passed to a new Chair on 16 October 2023 during the 2023 ISPE Membership Meeting and Awards Lunch in Las Vegas,...
At the 2023 Facility of the Year Award (FOYA) Celebratory Banquet, ISPE announced the 2023 overall FOYA winner: Genentech’s Clinical Supply Center (CSC). In addition to winning the overall award, Genentech’s CSC project was recognized as the 2023 Pharma 4.0™ category winner for its bold objectives, innovation, and deep team alignment and...
Over 2,800 attendees from across 27 countries and 200 exhibitors gathered in Las Vegas, Nevada, in mid-October for the 2023 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo. The conference kicked off with workshops and the Emerging Leaders Hackathon, where 17 teams competed to answer Roche/Genentech’s request for consultation on how to make single-use technology more...
An ISPE member since 1999, Charlie Wakeham has been active within the ISPE GAMP® community since 2001. A founding member of the GAMP UK Community of Practice (CoP), she is currently Chair of the GAMP Global CoP Steering Committee, one of the leaders of the GAMP Computer Software Assurance Special Interest Group (SIG), and a member of the ISPE Guidance Documents Committee. She has co-led or...
Lorrie Vuolo-Schuessler has been involved with ISPE and GAMP® projects since 2002. She has authored or co-led 11 ISPE GAMP-focused guidance documents, including ISPE GAMP® 5: A Risk-Based Approach to Compliant GxP Computerized Systems (Second Edition) and the ISPE GAMP® Good Practice Guide: Enabling Innovation - Critical Thinking, Agile, IT Service Management. She is Immediate Past Chair of...
In August, ISPE unveiled a new Guidance Documents Portal that provides a significantly improved online user experience for ISPE’s full library of Guidance Documents.
Since 2005, ISPE’s Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA) have recognized state-of-the-art projects utilizing new, innovative technologies to improve the quality of products, reduce the cost of producing high-quality...
The 2023 ISPE Biotechnology Conference opened on 26 June with a series of six keynote presentations on biotechnology and the development and manufacturing of advanced therapies. Tom Hartman, President and CEO of ISPE, introduced each of the keynote speakers.
Erich H. Bozenhardt is the Associate Director of Process Engineering in Regenerative Medicine Operations at United Therapeutics. Erich is an experienced bioprocess subject matter expert and internationally recognized authority in the areas of cell and gene therapy and bioprocessing. He has published more than 30 technical papers and is a frequent presenter at conferences.
Michelangelo Canzoneri, PhD, is a seasoned leader in the digital transformation space within the healthcare and life science industry currently serving as the Global Head of Group Smart Manufacturing at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. In this pivotal role, he functions as the primary business interface across the life science, healthcare, and electronics sectors, steering the incubation,...
The field of advanced therapeutic medicinal products (ATMPs) has witnessed remarkable advancements in recent years. The Emerging Leaders (EL) community from the Belgium and Germany/Austria/Switzerland (D/A/CH) affiliates collaborated to develop an inclusive series of online seminars on ATMPs. This article gives highlights of the speakers, topics, and knowledge shared in ATMP online seminars...
ISPE task teams created reports and a model to examine the challenges surrounding drug shortages, emergency preparedness, and the supply chain of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). This article outlines these initiatives.
On 7 March 2023, ISPE concluded the 2023 ISPE Aseptic Conference with a regulatory panel question and answer session. Attendees were invited to submit questions to the FDA representatives. This article offers highlights from the discussion.
The Executive Chair for this year’s Annual Meeting offers advice and shares what attendees can expect at the upcoming conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Annex 1, the European Union’s revised GMP requirements for the manufacturing of sterile medicinal products, will take effect on 25 August 2023. In this panel, experts involved in industry’s commenting of the draft versions of Annex 1 offered background information on how the document was developed and answered questions on its implementation.
Hubertus Rehbaum, PhD, is Chair of the Process Analytical Technology & Lifecycle Control Strategy (PAT-LCS) Community of Practice (CoP) Steering Committee. He’s been a member of ISPE for eight years. He first became involved through the Germany/Austria/Switzerland (D/A/CH) Affiliate when he joined as an Emerging Leader and helped co-host events for the group, which he said helped him...
Catherine Hall is Chair of the Investigational Products, North America (IPNA) Community of Practice (CoP) Steering Committee and is one of the authors of the ISPE Good Practice Guide: Investigational Medicinal Product Reverse Logistics – Good Returns and Reconciliation Practices. She has been a member of ISPE for 18 years.
The pharmaceutical industry began applying the principles of continuous processing to the manufacture of oral solid dosage (OSD) forms in the mid-2000s. The consensus among experienced practitioners is that the continuous approach has numerous benefits. “Continuous manufacturing provides for a full range of product life cycle, from small volume clinical production to large volume commercial...
Christian Wölbeling has been a member of ISPE for 25 years. A founding member and current Chair of ISPE’s Pharma 4.0™ Community of Practice (CoP) Steering Committee, Christian has also been very involved with the GAMP® and Process Analytical Technology CoPs, as well as the ISPE Germany/Austria/Switzerland (D/A/CH) Affiliate.
The United Kingdom Emerging Leaders Awards program is an exciting initiative for ISPE because it recognizes and celebrates the efforts and contributions of young engineers in the United Kingdom pharmaceutical engineering and manufacturing sectors.
“Over the past 20 years, there have been an increasing number of highly potent materials handled within the pharma industry, to the point where most modern products require some degree of containment or other exposure control to maintain safety,” said guide team member Peter Marshall, AstraZeneca (retired).
The event, organized by and for recent graduates and students by the ISPE Emerging Leaders Community of Practice (CoP), offered high-quality presentations and interactive workshops where participants...
As Head of Merck’s Global Manufacturing Operations and one of the most senior operations leaders in Merck, Sanat is responsible for Merck’s worldwide manufacturing operations and product supply, supporting global sales revenue of over $55 billion.
Roujian “RJ” Zhang is Chair of ISPE’s new Quality Control (QC)/Analytical Community of Practice (CoP) Steering Committee. He is also Chief Quality Officer at Evive Biotech, responsible for all aspects of quality for the company, ensuring safety and efficacy, making critical quality decisions, and keeping the company up to date with new regulations. RJ became interested in the pharmaceutical...
Terry Jacobs is Chair of the Oral Solid Dosage (OSD) Community of Practice (CoP) Steering Committee. He is a recognized expert in the design of pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and corporate facilities and has completed projects for clients in the US, China, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. He has lectured extensively on the planning and programming of laboratories and manufacturing and other...
Cultural excellence is the expressed and implied ways in which an organization operates. Excellence in organizational culture is essential for delivering robust and sustained quality performance and ensuring patient-focused outcomes. ISPE’s new Advancing Pharmaceutical Quality (APQ) Guide: Cultural Excellence provides a quality management framework for assessing and advancing an organization’s...
With this issue, Pharmaceutical Engineering® launches a new feature in P+E: profiles of Communities of Practice (CoP) leaders. These leaders are central to the success of ISPE’s CoPs, which spearhead the generation of ISPE’s gold standard content, including Good Practice Guides, Pharmaceutical Engineering articles, conference presentations, and training programs.
With this issue, Pharmaceutical Engineering® launches a new feature in P+E: profiles of Communities of Practice (CoP) leaders. These leaders are central to the success of ISPE’s CoPs, which spearhead the generation of ISPE’s gold standard content, including Good Practice Guides, Pharmaceutical Engineering articles, conference presentations, and training programs.
When nominating Martin (Marty) Lipa, Executive Director, Knowledge Management, Merck & Co. Inc., for the 2022 Max Seales Yonker Member of the Year Award, Anne Greene, Professor, Technological University Dublin, said, “Arguably the last year has been pivotal for the practice of knowledge management (KM) in the pharmaceutical industry based on new knowledge management frameworks and guidance...
ISPE’s new Advancing Pharmaceutical Quality (APQ) Guide: Process Performance and Product Quality Monitoring System (PPPQMS) focuses on the key aspects of maintaining and establishing an effective PPPQMS. An effective PPPQMS is crucial to establishing and maintaining a state of control. It enables continual improvement and is key to proactively identifying the need for product quality and...
The Commissioning and Qualification (C&Q) CoP was one of the first Communities of Practices to be established at ISPE. One of its founding members, Steve Wisniewski, Principal Consultant, CAI, said the Communities of Practice was formed in 2004 to identify and promote more efficient approaches that resulted in pharmaceutical facilities being fit for their intended purpose.
The 2022–2023 ISPE International Board took their places and the gavel passed to a new Chair during the 2022 ISPE Membership Meeting and Awards Lunch on 1 November during the 2022 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo...
For nearly a century, production of water for injection (WFI) was universally accepted to be distillation-based. As emphasis on costs and environmental concerns has grown, pharmacopeias around the world have focused on the quality attributes of WFI to allow for consideration of other production technologies.
When the ISPE Baseline Guide Vol. 5, Commissioning & Qualification, 2 ed. was published in 2019, most of the attention was focused on the incorporation of quality risk...
Combination Products is one of ISPE’s newest Communities of Practice (CoPs). It started as a Special Interest Group to help people in the industry collaborate and learn from each other.
More than 400 attendees learned about the latest developments in biopharmaceuticals, cell and gene therapy, and ATMPs at the 2022 ISPE Biotechnology Conference, held 28–30 June in Boston, Massachusetts.
ISPE has more than 19,000 members from more than 129 countries, and many of them spend countless hours sharing their knowledge and connecting with others, helping ISPE to advance the educational and technical efficiency of all members.
Four teams of Emerging Leaders (ELs) represented one of four different company manufacturer types in the Emerging Leader Hackathon at the ISPE 2022 Europe Conference. This article provides some participants’ views of...
The Europe Hackathon for students and recent graduates was held 23–24 April as part of the activities during the 2022 ISPE Europe Annual Conference. This article provides an overview of the event and how it...
The members of the Sterile Products Processing (SPP) Community of Practice (CoP) Steering Committee are as diverse and varied as the topics they discuss. The Community of Practice is comprised of professionals from around...
Effective and timely management of change throughout the product life cycle enables quality improvement and is critical to patient safety, supply reliability, and operational effectiveness and efficiency. The ISPE Advancing Pharmaceutical Quality (APQ) Guide: Change Management System provides a quality management framework for assessing and advancing change management (CM) system maturity...
ISPE has more than 17 global Communities of Practice (CoPs) where members can connect with each other. Professional Communities of Practices for
Released in November 2021, the ISPE Guide: Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs)–Autologous Cell Therapy focuses on manufacturing facility development and design for autologous cell therapies for...
The lack of diversity in the pharmaceutical engineering industry is widely recognized. Less well understood is why change is so hard to achieve. From my years of work in this space, and through observation of ongoing efforts to embrace diversity in all forms, I have developed a hypothesis: Progress is stifled because we as a society wrongly believe diversity and inclusion efforts are...
The ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo is our signature event, uniting the pharmaceutical industry’s best and brightest to share their expertise, showcase their brands, and network. The 2021 ISPE Annual Meeting ...
Eamon Judge, the 2020 recipient of the Max Seales Yonker Member of the Year award, exemplifies the values behind the award: service to the industry and inspiring ISPE members to volunteer.
Since the first edition of the ISPE Good Practice Guide: Good Engineering Practice (GEP) was published in 2008, the pharmaceutical industry and regulators developed industry standards, best practices, and regulatory guidance around topics that relate to Good Engineering Practice, culminating in particular in the ISPE Baseline Guide: Commissioning & Qualification (Second Edition). The...
ISPE’s Carolina-South Atlantic (CaSA) Chapter serves members from six different states in the US: North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, each with their own unique contributions to the pharmaceutical industry.
The traditional passing of the gavel took place in person at the 2021 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo on 2 November. The
The second guide in ISPE’s Advancing Pharmaceutical Quality (APQ) series provides a systematic and proactive approach to quantitatively assessing and advancing leadership systems by evaluating the management responsibilities highlighted in ICH Q10 as well as other key leadership components.
Japan’s pharmaceutical market is one of the world’s largest and the ISPE Japan Affiliate is helping its members stay connected and current in the ever-changing pharmaceutical industry.
The ISPE Foundation Diversity Internship Program has received strong response from applicants and has launched a new partnership.
The pharmaceutical industry in Spain and Portugal is growing, and the ISPE Iberia Affiliate—which has merged the Spain and Portugal Affiliates to take advantage of synergies between the two Affiliates—is working to train and support this expanding market.
Maintenance can impact both the quality of products and the compliance of pharmaceutical processes, and maintenance programs have long been recognized as critical to the success of the operations they support.
ISPE Emerging Leaders (ELs) held the first fully virtual International Hackathon in February. Fifty-one participants from over 22 countries encountered real-life challenges with working remotely and across time zones. Innovation...
The ISPE Aseptic Conference will celebrate its 30th year with the virtual conference on 15–17 March. The conference has been setting the pace for the evolution of sterile manufacturing processes and technologies in...
Equipment reliability helps reduce and manage the risk of failures in equipment, providing focus on availability, fitness for purpose, and cost. Reliable equipment improves the likelihood of achieving reliable manufacturing operations, which improves the supply of critical therapies to patients worldwide.
The 2020–2021 ISPE International Board of Directors began their term at the Member Meeting on 5 November during the
Data Integrity by Design is the concept that data integrity must be incorporated from the initial planning of a business process through to the implementation, operation, and retirement of computerized systems supporting that business process.
To continue meeting the professional needs of ISPE members and with the global increase of virtual events due to COVID, ISPE has expanded its webinar offerings on topics important to ISPE members and industry sponsors.
The ISPE D/A/CH affiliate Is a Leader in Many Respects, from Its Ever-Increasing Size to the Invaluable Engagement of Its Members, Who Contribute to Ispe’s Growth around the World. Grouping Together Europe’s German-Speaking Countries—Germany (D), Austria (a), and Switzerland (Ch)—It Is Currently the Second Largest Ispe...
In honor of the 40th birthday of ISPE and Pharmaceutical Engineering®, we looked back to 2010 to see what technology-focused articles were published in the magazine. Here are just a few:
In March 2020, the ISPE Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Affiliate was officially established. This event was a significant step along the journey to integrate members from Eurasian Economic Union nations into the international pharmaceutical community, as well as another sign of progress in the development of a harmonized scientific,...
ISPE has published a new Good Practice Guide: Critical Utilities GMP Compliance—How to Be Compliant and Ready to Prove It. Written and reviewed by...
ISPE has a new special interest group (SIG) to work on IT cybersecurity. The Special Interest Group was formed under GAMP®. A conversation with Jason Young of Silver Bullet Security, who heads the new group, provides details about the Special Interest Group.
Pharmaceutical Engineering® has launched another new section on the Pharmaceutical Engineering Online site: Online Exclusives. Pharmaceutical Engineering Online Exclusives are articles published exclusively on the Pharmaceutical Engineering website. This new feature expands the...
As one of the larger and older ISPE Chapters, the ISPE Delaware Valley Chapter (DVC) is admired by other Chapters and Affiliates around the world.
The 2019 ISPE Max Seales Yonker Member of the Year Award was presented to Charlie Wakeham, a data integrity and compliance specialist based in Sydney, Australia, who has played an instrumental role in the development of GAMP®.
Before traveling to the 2019 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo in Las Vegas, the ISPE Japan Affiliate held its annual phar-maceutical plant tour over five days (21–25 October), visiting two plants in Los...
The 2019 ISPE Europe Pharma 4.0™ Conference held in Manchester, UK, on 20–21 November 2019 was attended by 300 participants, all of whom contributed to the growing momentum for
Since its inception at the ISPE 2016 Annual Meeting & Expo, Women in Pharma® (WIP) has been rapidly growing. In the US and Europe, the society has held numerous Women in Pharma® events at local Affiliates, Chapters, and...
ISPE’s online site for Pharmaceutical Engineering was launched a little over one year ago, in November 2018. Here are some statistics about the site’s success during its first year.
ISPE’s newest Special Interest Group (SIG) will work on the emerging areas of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). The Artificial...
