As the pharmaceutical industry navigates a series of interconnected industry challenges, the pharma community's attention turns to Amsterdam. Later this month, major sector players gather for PHARMAP Congress 2026, scheduled for 20–21 April in the Netherlands. The event is expected to bring together a vast range of professionals - from manufacturing and packaging experts to QA and regulatory specialists, providing a comprehensive outlook into the industry’s trends.
A two-day business programme focuses on the main needs of the industry:
A transition to Pharma 5.0
More than half of the pharma leaders consider employee resistance to implementing digital solutions a major barrier to technological advancement. It became clear that simply using digital solutions is not enough - the industry needs to strategically integrate digital tools into human lives. This is why the industry is shifting from Pharma 4.0 towards Pharma 5.0, which takes a more holistic approach by centering around the collaboration between people and AI.
The key aspects of this are unlocked by Natalia Vtyurina, PhD, sMBA, Chair atISPE NL Quality CoP presentation. She delves into leadership shift – moving from hierarchical, technology-driven decision-making toward inclusive models where Quality, HR and employee participation shape meaningful outcomes. Following the topic, Natalia talks about quality 5.0 as an integrator, which helps break silos, enable collaboration and support resilient transformation across the organisation. She uncovers how embedding knowledge, trust and transparency into decision-making processes turns reactive change into sustainable progress.
Integrating Sustainability in Packaging
Jürgen Bodenmüller, Director of Business Development at SÜDPACK Medica AG, addresses how to transition to circular and bioeconomy, sharing concrete success stories. His presentation highlights the environmental burden of single-use plastics in European healthcare and introduces proven solutions such as recyclable mono-materials (PharmaGuard® and the Mono-PE-Pouch) alongside advanced mechanical and chemical recycling methods. Based on two cases, he demonstrates how combining renewable energy with circular product designs can substantially reduce climate impact – without compromising patient safety or high processability. At the same time, Bodenmüller is offering a balanced, technology-driven roadmap that aligns regulatory, environmental and operational demands.
Fighting the Counterfeiting
Nina Zehetmaier, Head of Sales at Securikett, tackles the growing challenges of fake medicines, which endanger both patient safety and brand reputation. While regulatory measures such as tamper evidence and serialisation provide a necessary baseline, her presentation argues that simple compliance is no longer sufficient.
Nina makes the case for modular security concepts based on an integrated approach that combines physical elements – advanced tamper‑evident technologies, overt and covert features – with digital components built on unique identifiers (UIDs). This architecture enables easy product authentication, comprehensive track‑and‑trace capabilities and scalable, risk‑based protection tailored to specific products and markets.
Pharma technologies and projects being implemented today
To bridge the gap between theory and practical results, pharma leaders are showcasing solutions that have been tested in the field and have proven ROI.
Thomas Lemazurier, MSAT / Drug Product Scientist at Ten23 Health, presents their “Robot-assisted pilot line non-GMP sterile filling”. Designed to accelerate early-phase development and clinical trial manufacturing, this system addresses one of the industry's most persistent challenges: how to achieve high-quality sterile filling for small batches without the cost and complexity of a full GMP commercial line. By deploying collaborative robotics in a flexible isolator environment, ten23 health's solution enables rapid changeovers, reduced manual intervention, and exceptional contamination control – all while maintaining the agility that pharma companies require.
Another innovation discussed in-depth is UNICEF's TRVST Digital platform. Already proven in global health supply chains, the system provides a secure, decentralized infrastructure for digital product information. The solution offers real-time updates, reduced waste and enhanced patient experience. For pharma companies, the transition to TRVST-enabled e-leaflets represents an immediate opportunity to improve sustainability metrics while enhancing regulatory compliance. All the details about the platform, case studies and insights are provided by Grant Courtney, an Independent Consultant - Traceability Lead at UNICEF.
Why pharma gatherings matter
With 47% of pharma companies reported to have poor cross-functional alignment, the industry events that unite diverse expertise hold strategic importance for companies. As representatives from Bayer, ESTEVE and AbbVie share the same stage, exchange their success strategies and brainstorm around the challenges of the industry, real progress is made. With PHARMAP 2026 just one week away, the industry soon will be equipped with insights and partnerships that will bring new projects and innovations in pharma.
