PharmaSource Podcast

“When you’re building something at the edge of science, it’s crucial to start with the problem, not the solution. My team has created 15 pharma startups using this approach, and 14 are still alive.” – Kerstin Papenfuss, Director of Pharma at Deep Science Ventures Kerstin Papenfuss serves as the Director of Pharma at Deep Science Ventures, where she leads the creation and development of novel therapeutics for unmet medical needs. With a PhD in Tumour Immunology from Imperial College London and an MBA from Bayes Business School, Kerstin brings over a decade of experience in oncology, signal transduction, and pharmaceutical markets to her role building science-based startups from scratch. Kerstin explains why traditional approaches to biotech startup creation often fail and how working from first principles can lead to more successful, impactful ventures. Her experience spans working with entrepreneurs, academics, pharmaceutical companies, and disease charities to build companies that solve fundamental challenges in healthcare. Read the full article: https://pharmasource.global/content/podcast/building-biotechs-from-first-principles-deep-science-ventures-formula-for-science-based-innovation/ [https://pharmasource.global/content/podcast/building-biotechs-from-first-principles-deep-science-ventures-formula-for-science-based-innovation/]

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated how pharmaceutical manufacturing timelines can be dramatically compressed while maintaining quality. At CDMO Live 2025, Fabrice Le Garrec shared lessons from the Lonza-Moderna vaccine scale-up, where "timeline meant lives." Here are his "10 Commandments" for fast-tracking emergency drug manufacturing. Dpwnload the full CDMO Live 2025 Report [https://pharmasource.global/content/expert-insight/cdmo-live-report-2025-download]

Simon Kucher opened CDMO Live 2025 [https://pharmasource.global/events/cdmolive/] in Rotterdam by unveiling brand new research developed in partnership with PharmaSource. The comprehensive study, presented by Kaan-Fabian Kekec and Clarita Simon, mapped the evolving landscape of CDMO-sponsor partnerships based on insights from over 100 industry experts. Read more [https://pharmasource.global/content/expert-insight/six-strategic-imperatives-for-cdmo-sponsor-success-simon-kucher-reveals-critical-2025-industry-roadmap/]

CDMO Live 2025, a panel sponsored by Lifecore Biomedical brought together industry quality leaders to discuss how quality management can become a strategic enabler rather than a compliance burden. The panel featured Jackie Klecker (EVP Quality & Development Services, Lifecore Biomedical), Liesbeth Foesters (VP Head of External & Clinical Supply Quality, UCB), Stefan Bouckaert (Vice President External Supply Integration Quality, Johnson & Johnson), and Gwladys Mabonzo (Associate Director External Manufacturing Vaccines, MSD). Download the full 50 page report [https://pharmasource.global/content/expert-insight/cdmo-live-report-2025-download/]

“We invest to meet the needs of the customer. What’s driving these investments are really the customer partnerships that we’re building to make these happen,” explains Arul Ramadurai, Chief Commercial Officer at Axplora. Axplora, a global leader in API small molecule and ADC manufacturing, was formed through the merger of Farmabios, Novasep, and PharmaZell. With 2,400 employees across ten API manufacturing sites in Europe, India and the US, the company has recently accelerated its growth strategy with major investments in high-growth areas like GLP-1 peptides and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). In a strategic leadership move to drive this expansion, the company appointed Martin Meeson as its new Chief Executive Officer in April 2024, succeeding Sylke Hassel. In the latest episode of the PharmaSource podcast we interview Arul Ramadurai about the company strategy. Full interview [https://pharmasource.global/content/podcast/axplora-strategy-teardown-investing-in-high-growth-therapeutics-with-a-customer-driven-approach/]