Category Archives: Spotlight Interviews

Spotlight Interview with Chris Baron, Director of Business Development, Pulmonary Category, Aptar Pharma

Why did you decide to do a webinar with us?

Every organisation working in pulmonary drug delivery is facing the same challenge: how to move away from propellants such as hydrofluoroalkanes HFA P227 and HFA 134a towards newer, more environmentally friendly approaches aimed at further reducing the sector’s carbon footprint. This challenge must be overcome without losing sight of two fundamental priorities: ensuring patient safety and supporting regimen adherence.

Both Jag Sur (my co-presenter and CEO of Nanopharm) felt it important to review the key challenges involved in developing low carbon pMDIs and then explain how Aptar Pharma can support its partners programs by derisking and accelerating the development, scale-up and commercialization of inhalers with lower carbon footprints.

What will the audience gain from attending your webinar?

We will address the technical, regulatory, manufacturing and R&D considerations in delivering more sustainable alternatives.

How did you get into the industry and what do you most enjoy about your role?

I have been working in the field of inhalation drug delivery for over 30 years, gaining significant expertise in metering valve technologies for pressurised metered dose inhalers and their accessory/ peripheral device technologies, including dose indicators and breath-activated inhalers.

It gives me great satisfaction to know that the solutions we create make a tangible difference to the quality of life of millions of people around the world, every day.

What are you hoping to achieve in the future in your personal and professional life?

From a professional perspective, I would like to play an integral role in the redefining of the asthma inhaler landscape and see through the implementation of new, more sustainable propellant(s).

From a personal perspective, stay healthy, continue to run, cycle and compete in another Tough Viking event. Most importantly, continue to beat my two sons in our Lock-Down Olympics

Register now

AM Session – https://bit.ly/3wtRxJl

PM Session – https://bit.ly/3pTVrsL

Spotlight Interview with Richard Price, Sales Director FSI UKI at TIBCO

 

 

 

 

 

Richard Price, Sales Director FSI UKI

What do you hope attendees will gain at your webinar?

Hopefully it will be an interesting and interactive session to help attendees appreciate noy just the challenges of Cloud disruption but the opportunity it presents – and the best way they can exploit those opportunities depending on their specific context.  I would also suggest it will give a good barometer for those attending of where they are comparatively in the data strategy maturity 

What discussions do you look forward to having with the attendees? 

For me it is an opportunity to validate the reality of a “wave” of disruption that is “accepted” within the vertical, and get an assessment of where different organisations are in that journey.  It would be interesting to see if challenges and opportunities are consistent, and if the maturity of those attending in terms of Cloud transformation and data management strategies is consistent 

What do you enjoy most about your role?

Working with customers and partners to genuinely transform their organisations operations, through innovation and collaboration.  It’s always an exciting moment when you work as a team to realise the conception of a deliverable project that will have a genuine impact on those involved as well as the wider business   

How did you get into the industry? 

By accident!  I was initially taking a direction in financial services when I got involved in a graduate placement scheme in the software industry – which really appealed to a sense of teamwork with academic curiosity and problem solving that was immediately accessible even at a relatively junior level.

Where is your favourite place in the world and why? 

Alnmouth, Northumberland.  The view in the evening across the beach and estuary is just stunning.  I have a lot of happy memories of it from my childhood and now with my children too. 

Spotlight Interview with Reza Mehman, Chief Innovation Officer at Onapsis

 

 

 

 

Reza Mehman

What do you hope attendees will gain at your webinar?

A good understanding of criticality and risks, especially in the financial services industry. Cyber crime and its financial consequences are one of the greatest risks for the financial sector. Not only the regulatory penalties are to be considered, but also the loss of customer confidence.

 

What discussions do you look forward to having with the attendees?

Discussions around which technological trends can help organisations to be better prepared for cyber attacks in an highly interconnected and digitized environment.

 

What do you enjoy most about your role?

Being part of the Innovation Team is great! We tackle really interesting new trends and technologies to help our customers secure their applications.There is always something new to learn.

 

How did you get into the industry?

Former business partners of mine were leading a cyber security company. I really got interested in topics around security & compliance. So I asked my business partners how I can engage myself in this great industry.

 

Where is your favourite place in the world and why?

To be honest. I love Heidelberg, Germany. I have lived here almost all my life but I’m still impressed by its beauty and the open-minded culture. The Heidelberg Castle, the Neckar river, the Old Town. A lot of beautiful places to visit. I guess that Mark Twain was right: The city was “the last possibility of the beautiful”.

 

Join Reza Mehman live for the Webinar, Hackers Are Targeting the Financial Industry, this September 20th 2021 on 2pm London.

Preguntas destacadas de la entrevista a Matthias Birkhoff, vicepresidente de Desarrollo de Negocios de Aptar Pharma

1/  ¿Por qué decidió hacer un webinar con nosotros?

Las enfermedades oftálmicas son un desafío global y los referentes del sector están esparcidos por todo el mundo. Este webinar nos permite interactuar en forma directa con nuestros colegas, cumpliendo con nuestra promesa de sustentabiliad, y sin tener que viajar.

 

2/  ¿Cuáles serán los beneficios para el público que asista al webinar?

Aptar Pharma es un líder mundial en la administración de fármacos por vía pulmonar y nasal. Al utilizar nuestra experiencia y conocimientos de prestigio internacional, ahora estamos replicando nuestra posición de liderazgo en el mercado en el cuidado de los ojos. Con más de 250 referencias en el mercado, queremos destacar cómo nuestra creciente cartera de soluciones para el cuidado de los ojos es la plataforma de referencia para la administración de fármacos oftálmicos.

 

3/ ¿Cómo ingresó en el sector y qué es lo que más le gusta de su rol?

Me formé en el campo de la medicina. Los dispositivos eran realmente una incógnita cuando ingresé en Aptar Pharma, hace más de 20 años. Hoy, muchos de nosotros reconocemos que la tecnología de dispensado es tan fascinante no solo como los fármacos sino también como las enfermedades contra las que se lucha.

 

4/ ¿Qué espera lograr en el futuro, tanto en el plano personal como en el profesional?

Desde un punto de vista profesional, me encantaría ver el día en que las enfermedades de la retina sean tratadas con fármacos que se administren por vía tópica. De esta manera, las excelentes oportunidades que existen hoy para los tratamientos para la retina podrían llegar a más pacientes en todo el mundo.

En lo personal, necesito mejorar mis habilidades como trompetista…

 

5/ ¿Qué nos sorprendería saber de usted?

Dirijo una big band, aunque ahora no podemos ensayar como lo hacíamos antes.

Regístrate ahora – https://bit.ly/3Bk5Kf1

 

Spotlight Interview with Ayse Sabuncu, Principal Consultant, European Energy Markets

 

 

 

 

 

What will the audience gain from attending your webinar?

In the next two decades, the decarbonisation of the transport and heating sectors is expected to happen mainly through electrification. This will in turn increase the electricity demand and will require sufficient generation resources to be available to meet the increasing demand.

In our webinar, we will provide our audience an overview of the transport and heat sectors’ policy targets, discuss how the electrification of these sectors might impact the power sector’s electricity consumption (both in terms of volume and shape), explore the interrelationship between the changing demand shape, increasing variable generation coming from renewable energy sources and flexibility technologies such as battery storage and demand side response and finally showcase the impact of this transformation on the electricity price.

 

How did you get into the industry and what do you most enjoy about your role?

I was an economics graduate with a couple of years of business and research experience when I saw a newspaper ad regarding the job. I did not know anything about the power industry or knew anyone working in it, but from the moment I started talking to my future manager, I was fascinated by it and knew I wanted to learn and understand more.

I have always loved working in the energy sector which has not disappointed me in terms of providing new challenges since 2001. When I started working in the sector, my first job was building the electricity market database for Europe, and maybe except for Spain, there was no wind or solar resources installed. And now look at it, Europe met around 38% of the total consumption from renewables in 2020! And this is expected to rise to 60% in 2030.

I am also very concerned about the sustainability of the resources and very glad that I can contribute to the ultimate goal by providing analysis/tools that clients can use to reduce their carbon footprint and increase their investment in renewables, battery and other types of zero-emission technologies or/and technologies abating the emissions.

 

What are you hoping to achieve in the future in your professional life?

I want to continue to play my part to the best of my abilities doing my job supporting the clients in their decarbonisation efforts, be a great coach and inspiration for new joiners and other team members, and while doing all that maintain a balanced work/family life.

 

Why did you decide to do a webinar with us?

We have been working with Business Review over the past few years to bring our award-winning solutions to the energy sector.

 

What would someone be surprised to know about you?

I am passionate about flamenco music and dance and have been an amateur dancer since 2012. I love nature and my house is full of specimen of shells, dried leaves, and feathers I have been collecting. They help me feel connected with nature.

 

Join Ayse Sabuncu live on the webinar Understanding the impact of energy demand decarbonisation on electricity markets this July 7th 2021 at 2pm London.

Spotlight Interview with Bob Tiling, Life Sciences Labelling Specialist at Kallik Ltd

 

 

 

 

 

What do you hope attendees will gain at your webinar?

I hope the attendees will gain an insight as to how the latest generation of artwork and labelling software can handle repetitive tasks, thus leaving the users more time to think about the creative side of artwork and labelling. They will have a better understanding of how large volumes of artworks or labels can be changed very quickly and accurately by using previously approved content and automation technology.

What discussions do you look forward to having with the attendees?

I am looking forward to discussing how content should be re-used to reduce errors and improve artwork or label consistency plus discussions around getting the right information on the right label or artwork with the assistance of rules engines and automation technology.

 

What do you enjoy most about your role?

My background is in sales so I enjoy gaining the confidence of new customers and ultimately winning their work. I get to see artwork and labelling projects delivered. I get to keep in touch with a group of very satisfied customers. I enjoy it when they come back to me for an expansion of the original solution following on from its initial success.

 

How did you get into the industry?

By accident! My local labelling software company were looking for a sales person to start immediately due to several people leaving at short notice. I was available immediately so I satisfied that requirement. I secured a 3 month trail which led to a 6 month trial. I went on to serve them for 10 years and became very passionate about labelling.

 

Where is your favourite place in the world and why?

Where is your favourite place in the world and why? I like to be walking in the mountains, no particular country or location, just in the mountains. I enjoy the views, the peacefulness, the clean air and of course the challenge itself of walking in the mountains.

 

Join Bob Tiling live on the webinar: 6 steps to overcome labelling challenges in the life sciences industry: How to drive efficiency & control through digital maturity this September 15th 2021, 4PM London

Spotlight Interview with Gurdip Singh, CEO at Kallik Ltd

 

 

 

 

 

What do you hope attendees will gain at your webinar?

 

We are hoping the attendees find this a very informative and engaging webinar. There is a major disruption happening in the life sciences industry; buyers, patients and government agencies require greater product traceability and visibility on the product information and product packaging than before. Gartner research shows that mislabeling and inaccurate packaging continue to be leading causes of launch delays and product recalls costing life sciences companies millions of dollars in lost sales, recalls, errors and lost brand trust. We have helped life sciences companies around the world overcome these challenges through digital transformation of their artwork, labeling and packaging processes and want to share our observations, our learnings and a path to help overcome these problems

 

What discussions do you look forward to having with the attendees?

 

– Understand what are their pain points

– Share our experience and lessons learned for real life examples

– Talk through the steps to overcome these challenges 

 

What do you enjoy most about your role?

 

I am very privileged to be the CEO at Kallik and as a result there are many aspects I enjoy of my role. I guess the ones that really make a difference is seeing the results our customers get through all the work my teams and our platform does for them ; it is a real pleasure seeing how the passion of my teams and the value of our software platform enables our customers to deliver outstanding results and be successful to their customers. I am always humbled by the praise and feedback customers give to my teams

 

How did you get into the industry?

 

I have been in the technology arena since I left university and the life sciences and healthcare industry for most of my working life. I’ve always been fascinated how technology can help deliver real noticeable differences to clinicians, patients and those who serve them. At Kallik we really do recognise the work we do with Life Sciences companies by getting the labelling concise, correct and accurate has a major impact on the result delivered by clinicians or patients who consume the therapies delivered to them by our life sciences customers. We love being part of this whole journey

 

Where is your favourite place in the world and why?

 

This is a tricky question, there are many places that are amazing around the world. I truly love travelling and would find it hard to pick only one favourite ; but I guess I can’t chicken out so I’m going to say Bangkok Thailand. I went there first with work and then laterly with my wife. I have been fascinated by the pace of Bangkok, the vibrant colors, the clash of modern cultures versus the multicultural spiritual side of the place, the unbelievable royal palaces and temples! 

 

Join Gurdip Singh live on the webinar title 6 steps to overcome labelling challenges in the life sciences industry: How to drive efficiency & control through digital maturity by Kallik Ltd on Wednesday 15th September 2021, 4PM BST 

Spotlight Interview with Carole Delauney, Director Business Development at Swissfillon AG and Markus Bischof, Key Account Manager, Früh Verpackungstechnik AG

 

 

 

What do you hope attendees will gain at your webinar?

Carole Delauney: the aim of the presentation will be to train prospects to our expertise and explain them the complexity related to ophthalmic product development when it comes to manufacturing. Drug Substances are developed and cost a lot of money. I feel that fill finish is sometimes under-assessed and under-estimated which can cause delays.

Markus Bischof: We hope that our customers can share from our learning curve and can smoothen their projects.

What discussions do you look forward to having with the attendees?

Carole Delauney: I hope the information we will share will be helpful and create a synergy between the speakers and the attendees to bring the maximum information to the audience.

Markus Bischof: I’m hoping to have an interesting and exchange related to complex projects.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

Carole Delauney: I define myself as a solution provider and am always embracing learning about a new project and advancing discussion together with Swissfillon’s technical experts as well as with our partners. I started in the industry about 18 years ago and met so many people that I now have a very solid network, which is really a blessing in this type of role.

Markus Bischof: It’s the interaction with external and internal stakeholders and the very often challenging timelines.

How did you get into the industry?

Carole Delauney: I am biochemist by training, started in the cosmetic industry before switching to the biotech sector. I had the chance to work in London where I started my career as technical business development and never stopped since. I focused the last 14 years on sterile fill finish, which is really an expertise I appreciate dealing with on a daily basis. I would not be able selling tablets, my heart is in vials, pre-filled syringes and cartridges as well as medical devices associated!

Markus Bischof: I have a scientific Background. After working in Quality, I was looking for a new challenge.

Where is your favorite place in the world and why?

Carole Delauney: I do not have a favorite place, I have too many to mention not only one and have still a lot to discover even close to where I live in the South of France. I believe travelling will change though and that we will have to feel great everywhere including home…

Markus Bischof: My favorite place is up in the Swiss Alps. It gives you a feeling of freedom after climbing and shows how less it needs to be happy.

Spotlight Interview with Dr Stefan Hellbardt, Vice President Business Development and Scientific Affairs, Aptar Pharma

 

 

 

Dr Stefan Hellbardt, Vice President Business Development and Scientific Affairs, Aptar Pharma

Why did you decide to do a webinar with us?

I have good experience with webinars both as a participant and as a speaker. This is an excellent way of delivering information and knowledge around a dedicated topic to the community. Attendees are informed in an entertaining way and are usually open to asking questions and discussing the topic. I have already run a webinar and with you, so know how smooth and easy you make to ensure the outcome is a success.

What will the audience gain from attending your webinar?

Attendees will dive into the world of Airless Drug Delivery at Aptar Pharma. Starting with a general view on airless dispensing in healthcare, we then discuss the different technical solutions when it comes to dispensing semi-solids. While airless drug delivery is still a niche in healthcare, we will talk about the key trends, the regulatory environment and how the patients as consumers view their treatments. All these considerations are perfectly addressed with Airless Dispensing in both topical and transdermal scenarios, and working with Aptar Pharma as your go-to partner ensures a reduction in risk and time in projects.

How did you get into the industry and what do you most enjoy about your role?

As a trained biologist I spent most of my time in clinical development, mainly in asthma and allergies. Upon joining Aptar Pharma, I switched gears to a business development and customer facing role. I enjoy exploring markets, developing my knowledge and discovering how we can leverage customer and consumer needs to stimulate innovation within Aptar Pharma.

What are you hoping to achieve in the future in your personal and professional life?

All regions of the world are changing at high speed, partly promoted by the recent pandemic, and driven by the consumer-centric view that is evolving in healthcare. While regulatory requirements for safety of medicines are increasing, patient-consumers are looking for more appealing delivery solutions that match their lifestyle as well as treat their illnesses. And the development of connected devices to drive adherence, continue to accelerate. I want to continue to develop my position as a thought leader that can help drive your drug delivery project to successful submission, launch and beyond.

What would someone be surprised to know about you?

During my professional training I always wanted to be a professor at university. Later I found out that it might not be the best fit and went into pharmaceutical industry – and I have never regretted that decision.

Join Dr Stefan Hellbardt on either of the two webinar sessions below:

Morning sessionhttps://bit.ly/3wpYMC2

Afternoon sessionhttps://bit.ly/35hGkzA

by Aptar Pharma on July 7th at 9AM London / 1:30PM Mumbai / 4PM Beijing or 3:30PM London/4:30PM Paris/10:30AM New York

Spotlight Interview with Dave Exline, President, Gateway Analytical at Gateway Analytical, an Aptar Pharma company

 

 

 

 

Dave Exline, President, Gateway Analytical at Gateway Analytical, an Aptar Pharma company

Why did you decide to do a webinar with us?

Leak detection testing of finished sterile containers is of such critical importance for pharma partners, that we felt it worthwhile exploring the subject in a webinar.

What will the audience gain from attending your webinar?

Leak detection, along with particulate matter defect identification, enables on-time release of drug products at each stage of the development programme, including clinical trials and commercial launch.

 This webinar will provide delegates with an overview of the USP <1207> Container Closure Integrity chapter. We will explain why the FDA now prefers deterministic leak detection methods over traditional probabilistic methods. We then review common applications of leak detection for sterile containers and present case studies on our work.

 How did you get into the industry and what do you most enjoy about your role?

I got into the industry in a very unusual way.  I was a forensic scientist specializing in fiber identification and characterization.  I was approached by a large pharmaceutical company to help solve a serious fiber contamination problem with an injectable product.  We solved the issue quickly, which led to additional investigations.  I have been doing this type of work ever since.

 What are you hoping to achieve in the future in your personal and professional life?

My professional priority is to ensure the continuous learning and improvement of our capabilities, so that Gateway Analytical is seen as the true go-to partner and thought leader in analytical services.

In my person life, I strive to help my children navigate the college experience and every day try to be a better husband and father.

 What would someone be surprised to know about you?

My early career was spent as a Forensic Scientist specializing in trace evidence analysis.  Also, I spend my free time working in the area of art and antiquities authentication.