3 Q&A interview with Henrik Schlieker, Business Development Executive, MVA-member PCI Pharma Services Germany GmbH

1) Why have PCI decided to join Medicon Valley Alliance? As an industry leading global CDMO, PCI Pharma Services have been active in the Nordic region for a number of years.  Having developed many relationships and partnerships in the region’s life science, pharma and biotech industry, joining MVA was a natural next step to enhance our presence and collaboration in the region. Myself and two other business development colleagues (Negar Modiri and Tony Sondh) work in this region.  We regularly meet with our Scandinavian partners and attend industry events, sharing the exciting developments and latest news of PCI Pharma Services’ innovative solutions driving Development, Clinical Trial Services and connecting Commercialization to support life-changing therapies throughout their development lifecycle. We very much look forward to meeting and interacting with MVA and connecting with our fellow members. 2) As a truly global organisation with 30 sites across seven countries and three continents what do you consider the key characteristics of life science in the Nordics? The Nordic region has a rich life science sector, driven by research and development from world leading academic institutions coupled to close collaborations between academia, government and industry. With an innovative climate and an abundance of knowledge and expertise, we have found Nordic pharma companies are keen to learn and are open to collaborating on new projects.  Our partners in this region value the industry leading solutions PCI offer from early development services to clinical and commercial manufacturing and packaging for all dosage forms including highly potent and sterile drug products. 3) What do you consider the key challenges are facing the outsourcing of end-to-end drug product development, manufacturing and clinical supplies in Europe? With an emphasis on speed to study and getting therapies to patients as quickly as possible, a key challenge especially for small and mid-sized pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies can be competing for capacity, especially at larger CDMOs. Readily available capacity at a specialist CDMO enables a faster route to the delivery of these often lifesaving drug products to patients.  At PCI, we are big enough to deliver but small enough to care for all our client partner needs and goals.  With a global network and continuous investment, we have the capacity and specialist capabilities to meet our client needs from development to commercialization. One of the benefits of partnering with an end-to-end solution provider is the ability to leverage their expertise and vast pool of knowledge. Considering the broad range of projects that such a CDMO is exposed to, creates a wealth of experience in terms of product processing and the associated quality and regulatory requirements.  However, depending on the size of the CDMO and their organizational structure there can be challenges of scientific continuity and when projects scale up, the transfer between sites.  At PCI, we provide a truly integrated solution with a global QMS, dedicated project and account management, with an emphasis on collaboration, open communication and seamless solutions to de-risk the supply chain, providing clients with integrated end-to-end drug development, manufacturing and packaging capabilities that increase their products’ speed to market and opportunities for commercial success. Finally, as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, we are facing global supply chain disruption. To overcome some supply chain challenges, pharmaceutical companies and CDMOs alike are now looking to source API, consumables and outsourcing solutions from domestic suppliers to not only help reduce the company’s carbon footprint but also assist in reducing lead times and mitigate supply chain risk.  Helping to reduce supply chain complexity and risk further, pharmaceutical companies continue to consolidate their third-party suppliers, seeking more strategic relationships. Successful CDMOs will have integrated end-to-end global solutions for small and large molecules and biologics, with the ability to develop, manufacture and pack as many dosage forms to meet client clinical and commercial needs to deliver life-changing therapies to patients. Thank you for the opportunity for this interview – we are looking forward to the new relationships coming our way within MVA.