What are the global pharma giants' goals at DCAT 2024? A written roundtable reveals all

Outsourcing Pharma addressed a number of those attending to produce a ‘written roundtable of what these companies wanted to achieve during this big week in the pharma calendar. Representing a diverse spectrum of expertise and vision, companies Enzene, Adragos, Quotient, Purolite, Tjoapack, Exothera, and Abzena have begun a collective journey with shared aspirations and distinct objectives.

From pioneering breakthrough therapies to optimizing supply chain efficiency, each participant brings unique perspectives and ambitions to the table. As the week unfolds, these industry titans are poised to engage in a dynamic exchange of ideas, forging alliances, and charting the course for the future of pharmaceutical innovation.

Enzene Biosciences’ spokesperson is Himanshu Gadgil, CEO, Enzene Biosciences.​

What are your plans for DCAT?​

We’re looking forward to meeting with visitors ahead of the opening of our facility in the US. Our senior team will be at the event to share our vision to help emerging biotechs bring promising molecules to market using our high-quality, efficient, and cost-effective continuous bioprocess manufacturing platform EnzeneX. We also want to highlight our biosimilars pipeline, which helps achieve our aim of delivering trusted and affordable medicines.

DCAT facilitates vital networking opportunities, and we plan to meet with biotechs interested in our pioneering continuous bioprocess manufacturing. We also hope to attend some of the keynote sessions and learn more about the important innovations in our sector.

What do you hope to achieve from the event?​

Our main objective at this year’s DCAT is to take our extensive global experience to a wider US audience. Our new facility opens in Princeton, New Jersey early this summer, we are one of the few companies equipped to offer continuous manufacturing in the US.

We look forward to discussions about the significant advantages our continuous bioprocess manufacturing platform EnzeneX offers to biotechs seeking lower costs, improved quality, and accelerated speed to market.

DCAT offers the perfect opportunity to have these conversations in a new territory and help ensure that more biotech firms are aware of our services. We can offer access equity to our cost-effective solutions, so that more potentially life-saving biologic innovations become available.

Quotient Sciences’ spokesperson is Kieron Hall, chief marketing officer.​

What are Quotient's plans for DCAT? What does Quotient hope to achieve from the event?​

DCAT is always a great opportunity for Quotient Sciences to meet with our customers. We look forward to participating in events again this year. As a trusted outsourcing partner for global pharma companies and innovative emerging biotechs, we have always been driven by strong science and a desire to remove inefficiencies from the drug development process. Now with custom API synthesis feeding into our flagship Translational Pharmaceutics® platform, we’ll be discussing how even more gains will be made.

We will also showcase the changes to our executive leadership team. In October, Thierry Van Nieuwenhove was appointed as CEO, joining our company with an extensive track record in the pharma/CDMO services industry supporting both small molecules and biologics drug development programs. Dr. Andrew Lewis was appointed as chief scientific officer he recently led our Pharmaceutical Sciences Department and has been with the company for almost a decade. Finally, Eric Bironneau joined Quotient Sciences as chief business officer, bringing more than two decades of industry experience to our executive team, most recently from roles at Axplora and Novasep.

Together with other members of our executive leadership team, and with the support of more than 1,300 dedicated Quotient Sciences colleagues, we look forward to setting a path forward for innovation and growth for our company by helping customers bring new molecules to maket as efficiently as possible.

Adragos Pharma’s spokesperson is Henny Zijlstra, chief commercial officer (CCO) at Adragos Pharma.​

What are Adragos Pharma's plans for DCAT?​

DCAT offers Adragos Pharma an excellent opportunity to directly engage with our client base, highlighting the enhanced capabilities our expanded network brings to the US market. At this year's event, we are excited to unveil the growth of our network, notably with the inclusion of two key facilities. These include Kawagoe, which offers a visual inspection and packaging services for US clients interested in the Japanese market, and Halden that provides sterile manufacturing sites that are accredited with FDA certification.

These developments significantly enhance our service offerings, underlining our dedication to fulfilling the varied needs of our clients. DCAT also acts as a valuable meeting point to reinforce relationships with industry peers and our committed team.

Furthermore, it serves as an essential scouting venue for our M&A team, allowing us to actively seek and engage with potential acquisition targets, thereby strengthening our network and industry standing. This participation at DCAT underscores Adragos Pharma's strategic approach towards growth, innovation, and partnership.

What does Adragos Pharma hope to achieve from the event?​

We aim to strengthen our market presence, showcase our latest capabilities, and present our committed team. Additionally, our M&A team will be on the lookout for potential acquisition targets. Successfully securing new business deals, whether in sales or through M&A ventures, would be a notable achievement for us.

Abzena​’s spokesperson is Campbell Bunce chief scientific officer (CSO):​

What are Abzena's plans for DCAT?

This is Abzena’s first attendance at DCAT Week. We have a packed agenda focused on increasing our exposure across the DCAT community and raising awareness of who we are and what we can offer drug developers.  We have extensive meetings planned with existing and new customers to connect, establish and strengthen our relationships to generate new business for Abzena. We are committed to driving success for our customers to deliver effective new drugs to patients in need.  We provide full, end-to-end service offerings for the design, development, and manufacture of bioconjugates, including ADCs and complex biologics from early discovery through to commercial.

What does Abzena hope to achieve from the event?​

We would like to come away from DCAT Week with a better sense of what the pain points are for the biotech and pharma community, to allow us to review, refine, and adjust our offering to what the sector needs.  The last four years have seen many global events that have increased uncertainty in supply chains, capacity, costs, and investment in the sector.  We hope that the event will provide some direction on this, which we can then feed back into our projections. We hope to come home from DCAT week having convinced customers that we are the best-equipped contract organization to help move their Biologics and Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs) programs forward to their next inflexion point.

Tjoapack’s spokesperson is Joe Compton, global business development.​

What are Tjoapack’s plans for DCAT?​

Tjoapack’s participation in DCAT will reflect the company’s commitment to forging meaningful connections with existing and prospective industry contacts. Face-to-face meetings will provide our team with an invaluable opportunity to strengthen relations with our clients and engage with potential new customers. We also plan to showcase Tjoapack’s innovative packaging solutions and demonstrate how they can facilitate our clients’ business processes. Our DCAT mission is to highlight Tjoapack’s capability to perform primary packaging and emphasize our expertise in secondary packaging of solid forms and injectables We aim to showcase our proficiency in handling injectables, which makes us a reliable partner for companies seeking high-quality packaging solutions.

What are your hopes and expectations for the event?​

Attending DCAT will be instrumental in helping us establish new partnerships and collaborations through face-to-face meetings, with potential clients to gain a deep understanding of their needs. We also aim to strengthen relationships with our existing client base by showcasing the value of Tjoapack’s solutions. Increasing brand visibility and recognition within the pharmaceutical industry is another important DCAT objective that will help enhance our market presence. Our team at the event will work hard to gain insights into market trends and customer needs, so we can stay competitive and adapt to evolving market dynamics. Fostering connections, showcasing expertise, and contributing to the industry’s success are our overarching goals for this year’s DCAT.

Purolite’s spokesperson is executive vice president and general manager of Ecolab Life Sciences, Hayley Crowe​.​

What will Purolite, an Ecolab Company, be showcasing at DCAT 2024?​

DCAT is one of the most established and well-attended pharma events globally. As our industry continues to evolve, Ecolab is committed to being at its forefront. DCAT offers a great opportunity for networking and the ability to nurture relationships with existing and potential new customers.

Purolite, an Ecolab company, will be sharing key updates around its new Life Sciences sector offering including solutions covering APIs and excipients, milling media and bioprocessing purification.

We will also highlight Ecolab’s commitment to life sciences and collaboration through our Pharma Enterprise Solutions team. They will be showcasing our offering to support every step of the drug development journey, as a total solution for Pharma.

What does Purolite hope to achieve from the event?​

The biopharma sector is very much a people-focused industry, and collaboration is key. We’re always looking for new ways to engage with delegates who attend DCAT and continue to build our relationships across the value chain. DCAT presents a truly global forum to network and help build deeper, more meaningful relationships with fellow executives. This way, attendees of DCAT get a real feel for who we are, the innovative solutions we provide, and the culture of our business.

The main objective for participating in DCAT includes engaging with current customers, meeting prospective customers interested in our solutions, and presenting Ecolab’s comprehensive capabilities and investments in Purolite. The event is a regular fixture on Purolite’s events calendar, delivering an excellent opportunity to introduce our offering to a broader audience.

Exothera’s  spokesperson​: Patrick Thiaville, chief technology officer, nucleic acids​

DCAT provides an exceptional platform for Exothera to engage with attendees and discuss the latest technologies and capabilities in the pharmaceutical industry. At this year's event, we are thrilled to showcase our nucleic acids service offering, powered by the groundbreaking Ntensify RNA production platform.

We are excited to discuss Ntensify and highlight the outcomes it offers for RNA therapeutics, including reduced cost and production time and eliminating the need for process development or scale-up.

As an experienced, specialist CDMO we are committed to scientific problem-solving, attentive service, and open communication at every stage. DCAT provides the perfect opportunity to highlight Exothera’s partnership with sister company Quantoom Biosciences, which grants exclusive access to the Ntensify platform, enabling us to provide clients with the most advanced RNA production service technology available — all under one roof.

We look forward to meeting with potential clients and partners at DCAT and are excited to discuss how our expertise combined with Ntensify can help to accelerate RNA therapeutic development programs.