Ardena CEO on Navigating CDMO Volatility: Specialization, Nanomedicine, and Resilience
“Despite the volatility, the industry is getting some positive energy and renewed confidence”Jeremie Trochu, Chief Executive Officer at Ardena, has spent two decades building and scaling businesses across the biopharma sector. He was part of the leadership team that transformed Catalent from a private equity spinoff into a publicly traded global CDMO, where he led multiple successful acquisitions and integrations. Since joining Ardena as CEO in 2024, he has been steering the company through one of the most volatile periods in pharmaceutical manufacturing history.In a recent PharmaSource podcast episode, Jeremie explains how CDMOs can build resilient partnerships, when to specialize versus diversify, and what it takes to earn a seat at the table with pharma and biotech clients.Read more.
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Biotech Funding Strategies for European Companies
"Life has not become simpler and easier. It's become more complex. Success requires acknowledging this complexity early and building flexibility into every aspect of the business model.”Renée Aguiar-Lucander is the CEO of Hansa Biopharma, appointed in April 2025. Renée brings rich expertise from seven years leading Calliditas Therapeutics through a dual NASDAQ listing and the first approved drug for IgA nephropathy, plus extensive healthcare investment experience at Omega Funds and 3i Group.Speaking to PharmaSource at Nordic Life Science Days (NLSDays), Renée shares candid insights on the investment climate that's reshaped biotech over the past few years, the structural challenges facing European companies, and what early-stage biotechs need to focus on to survive an increasingly selective funding environment.Read more.
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Poland's Biotech Sector: From Emerging Market to Strategic Partner
“Poland is no longer an emerging market. It’s a partnering market.”Dr. Magdalena Kulczycka, founder of the Biotech Innovation Institute, is a molecular biologist with experience spanning academia, entrepreneurship, and venture capital. Her institute fosters biotech growth from lab to market through consulting, venture building, and business development, with particular focus on Poland’s life sciences sector and the broader Central and Eastern European region.Poland’s biotech sector has undergone substantial transformation over the last few decades, evolving from a centrally planned system to one of Europe’s more dynamic innovation economies. This evolution creates opportunities for pharmaceutical companies and contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) seeking European partnerships. Speaking to PharmaSource at Nordic Life Science Days (NLSDays) in Gothenburg, Magdalena outlines why Poland merits attention from international partners and how organizations can successfully navigate this market.Read more.
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How to Build True CDMOs-Biotech Partnerships
“We invest emotionally and intellectually in their journey—when their product reaches patients, that’s our success too.”Janet Hoogstraate, CEO of NorthX Biologics, brings ~30 years of pharmaceutical experience spanning from preclinical development to GMP production for marketed products, with leadership roles at Valneva and AstraZeneca. Her experience from both the CDMO and sponsor sides contributes to NorthX’s approach to developing advanced biologics in extended collaboration with the innovative product companies.The contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) landscape is evolving beyond transactional relationships toward integrated partnerships. In this podcast, recorded at Nordic Life Science Days (NLSDays) in Gothenburg, Janet outlines how CDMOs can function as strategic partners rather than service vendors, sharing insights from an interactive workshop on growing CDMO relationships alongside clinical development.Read more.
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Inside Thermo Fisher’s Strategy for Analytical Services Growth
“The differentiator in our business isn’t the equipment and the facility—it’s the scientists working with customers to create assays and solve complex scientific challenges.”Leon Wyszkowski has spent nearly three decades in drug development, including 20 years at Thermo Fisher Scientific in roles spanning clinical services, CDMO operations, and now analytical services. His perspective on the evolution from internal pharma operations to service provider offers insights into how the industry’s approach to outsourcing has matured.In this conversation, Leon discusses Thermo Fisher’s expansion in the Nordics, the company’s partnership with AstraZeneca’s BioVenture Hub, and why trust remains the fundamental factor when biotechs and pharma companies evaluate analytical service partners.Read more.
Welcome to the PharmaSource podcast: the pharma and biotech podcast that explores the latest trends, challenges, and commercial opportunities shaping the biopharma manufacturing and outsourcing.
In each episode we'll be speaking with top executives, researchers, and outsourcing experts, who share their perspectives on topics such as building a smarter, more sustainable supply chain, how to partner with CDMOs, digital transformation, procurement and external manufacturing strategies, and plenty more besides.
Make sure to subscribe for your regular dose of pharma insight.
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