Image source: BGS Group
News • Annual industry event
Pharma's Competitive Advantage at AUTOMA+ 2026
The pharmaceutical industry has spent more than a decade discussing the digital factory, yet many of the same challenges remain: meeting regulatory expectations around data integrity, improving process visibility and traceability, controlling manufacturing costs and staying competitive.
According to industry data published by ISPE, 90% of organisations are currently undergoing some form of digital transformation. In 2025, Polpharma launched a multi-site implementation of Siemens' Manufacturing Execution System (MES) to digitalise production reporting, improve process transparency and strengthen quality control across its manufacturing network. At the same time, Sanofi has been scaling its MARS programme, replacing paper-based batch records with fully digital manufacturing processes as part of one of the industry's largest MES transformation initiatives. These cases prove that companies that have successfully moved from digital planning to digital execution are beginning to demonstrate measurable gains in efficiency, quality and speed to market.
Despite these examples, a key obstacle remains: the gap between executive ambition and operational reality. Bridging this divide requires a performance management framework that translates strategic goals into shopfloor actions, as well as a clear understanding of where automation creates value and where it may introduce risk.
These challenges are at the centre of the leadership panel at the Pharmaceutical Automation and Digitisation Congress (AUTOMA+) 2026, taking place on 16-17 November 2026 in Zürich, Switzerland. Gathering CEOs, Vice Presidents and transformation leaders, the discussion explores the technical strategies and operational results for the factories as well as the next stage of manufacturing transformation.
Participants include:
- Ernst Schranz, CEO at GRITEC AG - innovation in practice: digitalised manufacturing with the MASIRA production line;
- Alissa Monk, Head of Sustainability at ten23 - sustainability considerations as a criterion in CDMO partner selection;
- David Niedermaier, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at AGILOX Services GmbH - case study: automation of the production line;
- Mikko Kämäräinen, PMO & Operational Excellence Director at FinVector Oy - from strategy to shopfloor: digitising the performance cascade;
- Sonja Peter, Global MES Project Manager at Bachem AG - beyond paperless manufacturing: advancing insights into equipment and process data in Bachem's digital peptide factory;
- Markus Hartung, Vice President Region EMEA & Global Commercial Processes at Evonik - transforming chemical value chains through innovation and partnerships.
The leadership panel is a senior-level format structured to enable direct exchange between executives rather than sequential presentations. The AUTOMA+ is an annual industry event focused on practical transformation across the pharmaceutical sector, supported by GSK, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.KG and Bachem AG.
For teams working through the gap between digital ambition and operational delivery, the full programme is at https://sh.bgs.group/4fd
Source: BGS Group
10.06.2026
