Flexible Manufacturing and Workforce Modernization are Top Bioproduction Priorities, Says MilliporeSigma’s Sebastián Arana

Sebastián Arana, the global head of Process Solutions at MilliporeSigma, the life science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, spoke to BioPharm International® ahead of the 2026 BIO International Convention (BIO 2026), occurring June 22–25 in San Diego, to discuss the most pressing manufacturing challenges facing biomanufacturers today as the biopharmaceutical industry scales increasingly complex and targeted therapies.

Arana identifies platform flexibility as the most critical operational need for biomanufacturers. As clinical timelines shorten and pipeline compositions diversify, manufacturers must support different modalities and volume requirements within a single production ecosystem. He emphasizes that automation, digital tools, and real-time monitoring are essential capabilities going forward.

How should biomanufacturers prepare for increasingly diverse drug pipelines?

Arana cautions that modernizing equipment alone is insufficient. Legacy facilities built for earlier manufacturing paradigms would face compounding challenges when new modalities are introduced, including facility flow constraints, segregation and contamination control requirements, and fragmented data systems. He stresses that data flow becomes more critical as new manufacturing processes are layered in.

"I feel the winners over the next decade or so will be companies that build that adaptability in their manufacturing ecosystem, not [just] manufacturing capacity," Arana says. “What do I mean by flexible manufacturing? It's basically modular manufacturing, digital-enabled, and fundamentally platform-based.”

He adds that workforce retraining is a strategic imperative, not an operational afterthought. New modalities often require entirely new ways of working at the site level. Arana also notes that no single company can build deep expertise across all emerging modalities, and that specialization in select areas is becoming a competitive necessity.

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About the speaker

Sebastián Arana, Global Head of Process Solutions, MilliporeSigma

At MilliporeSigma, the life science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, Arana oversees one of the broadest product portfolios in the industry—one that provides a differentiated offering that addresses the full pharmaceutical value chain from upstream to drug product. He has more than 25 years of global experience in marketing, sales, country, and business unit responsibilities, having held executive positions in the United States, Latin America, and Europe. Arana has led teams and managed portfolios across a broad range of industries, including healthcare, consumer, and industrial products.