Bio/Pharma Innovation and Manufacturing Spotlighted in CPHI Pharma Awards 2025 Shortlist

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Editor's note: this story was originally published on PharmTech.com.

The shortlist for the CPHI Pharma Awards 2025, announced on Sept. 18, 2025, showcases breakthroughs shaping the future of bio/pharmaceutical innovation. Finalists, chosen across 14 categories, highlight progress in synthetic biology, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug formulation, patient access solutions, and sustainable pharmaceutical packaging, reflecting the industry’s evolving priorities in science and technology (1).

These awards serve as a barometer of the technologies and practices most likely to influence the industry’s next phase. They not only emphasize product innovation but also acknowledge leadership within the sector. Categories such as Future Leader and Women in Pharma highlight individuals whose technical expertise and vision are shaping the operational and cultural dimensions of pharmaceutical research and production.

What can bio/pharma manufacturing and technology experts take away from these nominations?

This year’s shortlist underscores the growing integration of digital and sustainable practices into bio/pharmaceutical development pipelines. AI-enabled formulation tools are streamlining design and reducing experimental timelines, while circular packaging and sustainable processes point to an industry adapting its manufacturing models to meet both regulatory expectations and environmental goals (2–4).

“Across every category, the finalists are setting new standards in pharmaceutical innovation, sustainability, and patient impact,” said Tara Dougal, CPHI event director, Informa Markets, in the press release (1). “The CPHI Pharma Awards are a vital platform to spotlight the progress shaping the future of our industry.”

What do these awards mean for the industry’s global outlook?

The winners will be announced on Oct. 28 at the opening ceremony of CPHI Frankfurt 2025, which brings together professionals across the global supply chain. Recognition of these finalists highlights technologies and approaches that may soon influence manufacturing scalability, supply chain integration, and clinical development strategies.

CPHI Frankfurt will be held Oct. 28–30, 2025.

Who are the finalists by category?

The 2025 finalists and their respective technologies/products by category include:

• API development and innovation
  • Lonza for Design2Optimize
  • CMAC for “From Crystallization to Tablet: A scalable Platform for API Agglomeration”
  • Merck KgaA for mPredict Co-crystal Prediction Service
  • CordenPharma International for TAG Assisted Peptide Synthesis (TAPS).
• Accelerating innovation
  • NunaBio for custom, cell-free, synthetic DNA
  • TriLink Biotechnologies for GMP-Grade CleanCap M6 analog
  • Covestro Deutschland for Mono-Material Drug Delivery Demonstrator
  • Accord Healthcare for Orgovyx—transforming prostate cancer care
  • Invengene for room temperature-stable generic Posaconazole Injection using hydroxypropyl beta-cyclodextrin (HPβCD)
  • Prestige Biopharma for “Ullenistamab: A Targeted mAb for pancreatic cancer”.
• At the heart of pharma
  • Accord Healthcare for a decade of impact with International Health Partners (IHP)
  • PharmEvo for elevating patient safety through intelligent design
  • Strides for enhancing access to affordable healthcare—HIV
  • Farmak International for “Resilient by Design: Farmak Group’s Ukrainian-Rooted Pharma Network Blueprint for Crisis-Proof Global Supply”
  • CNX Therapeutics and the Social Mobility Foundation for “Talent Without Barriers”.
• CEO of the Year
  • Bobby Sheng, Bora Pharmaceuticals
  • Deepak Bahri, Sentiss Pharma
  • Hanns-Christian Mahler, ten23 health
  • Lars Petersen, FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies
  • Lisa Soyeon Park, Prestige Biopharma
  • Michael Quirmbach, CordenPharma International.
• Drug delivery and device innovation
  • Azelis Group for its advanced peristomal barrier and adhesion cream
  • SHL Medical for its Maggie Mix, which is a dual-chamber autoinjector with needle isolation technology (NIT)
  • LTS Lohmann Therapie-Systeme for launching the first biosimilar in an on-body injector
  • Ypsomed for uniting sustainability and patient convenience in self-injection devices.
• Finished formulation
  • Zerion Pharma for Dispersome technology
  • Evonik Industries for EUDRACAP colon, which, according to the company, is the world’s first functional ready-to-fill capsule for oral drug delivery to target the ileo-colonic region
  • CrystecPharma for modified supercritical anti-solvent (mSAS) particle engineering for stabilization of biomolecules
  • Roquette for ReadiLYCOAT plant-based coating systems for enhanced oral dosage solutions
  • Lonza Capsules & Health Ingredients for Innovaform innovation and formulation accelerator.
• Future leader
  • Jakub Knurek, marketing specialist, Mabion
  • Mark Kelada, senior manager, European Lab Services, Nelipak Laboratory Services
  • Mohammad Farahani, E. coli production expert, CinnaGen
  • Yolanda Gomez, Esteve CDMO
  • Yuvansh Khokhani, managing director, YSK Laboratories
• Manufacturing excellence
  • Coriolis Pharma Research for advanced lyophilization modelling
  • Enzene for EnzeneX: fully connected continuous manufacturing
  • Bausch+Ströbel for GENEX, robotic, modular aseptic fill-finish platform
  • VectorBuilder for VectorBuilder’s gene drug manufacturing platform.
• Packaging and machinery
  • SCHOTT Pharma for SCHOTT TOPPAC infuse—the next generation
  • IMA LIFE for TILE-X, a new generation gloveless aseptic fill-finish system
  • H&T Presspart for Vytal innovative ready-to-use snap-fit closure.
• Start-up initiative
  • Green Elephant Biotech for CellScrew
  • NunaBio for Custom: Cell-free, synthetic DNA—including high complexity sequences, multi kilobase length, and milligram scale—made in days to weeks
  • NovoArc for lipids for innovative drug formulation
  • ORYL Photonics for ORYL F1.
• Supply chain excellence
  • Cryoport Systems for integrated end-to-end supply chain platform
  • Occam Systems for resilient chemical supply chains, supercharged by AI
  • QYOBO for QYOBO platform
  • TraceLink for TraceLink Orchestration Platform for Universal Solutions (OPUS).
• Sustainability
  • Celtic Renewables for leading the green chemical revolution, transforming industrial by-products into high-value green chemicals
  • Enantios for the Enantios platform—enabling fast, label-free chiral analysis in solution
  • Avantor for J.T.Baker Viral Inactivation Solution, an environmentally safer detergent for virus removal in bioprocessing
  • AustinPx for KinetiSol technology, a solvent-free, fusion-based technology that transforms poorly soluble drugs into high-bioavailability formulations
  • Kindeva for leading the way in next-generation propellants (NGPs)—commercial-ready capabilities in HFA152a and HFO1234ze propellants
  • Alliance to Zero for Lean, Green, and Secure, a regulatory-ready, blister-free, syringe solution
  • Huhtamaki for Omnilock Ultra PAPER
  • Botanical Solution Inc. (BSI) for “Sustainability Grows on Trees: Producing QS-21, the Gold Standard Vaccine Adjuvant”.
• Woman of the Year
  • Adriana Kiędzierska-Mencfeld, chief operating officer (COO), Polpharma Biologics
  • Christiane Bardroff, COO, Rentschler Biopharma
  • Ivy Gao, PhD, president, Sunresin
  • Jennifer Gattari, global business development lead, Pfizer CentreOne
  • Jonina Gudmundsdottir, CEO, Coripharma
  • Meeta Gulyani, general manager, Bioprocessing, and head of Life Science Strategy, Ecolab Life Sciences.

References

1. Informa Markets. CPHI Frankfurt Pharma Awards 2025 Finalists Announced. Press Release. Sept. 18, 2025. https://www.cphi.com/europe/en/cphi-celebration/awards.html
2. Ferreira, F. J. N.; Carneiro, A. S. AI-Driven Drug Discovery: A Comprehensive Review. ACS Omega 2025, 10, 23, 23889–23903. DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.5c00549
3. Cuneo, E. Circularity in Primary Pharmaceutical Packaging: Uniting for Change. healthcarepackaging.com, June 16, 2025.
4. BioIndustry Association. Sustainability in Action: How Bioprocessing is Pioneering Sustainable Practices. Blog Post, bioindustry.org. Nov. 19, 2024.