40 Pharmaceutical Technology
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BioPharm International
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Trends in Manufacturing May 2025 PharmTech.com
INDUSTRY
TRENDS
chain to identif y which of those items might have
direct impact on our cost position."
Beyond t hose concer n s, however, t h ree m a i n
manufact uring t hemes emerged: safet y, sustain-
ability, and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and
automation.
'Breaking up the octopus'
Joe Bobacher, regional sales manager for OPW Engi-
neered Systems in Hamilton, Ohio, spoke to Pharm-
Tech Group about preventing spills in the manufac-
turing process, which all companies would like to
ideally avoid in order to not lose product, but also
to prevent anything corrosive from leaking into the
environment.
"As safety evolves throughout manufacturing pro-
cess facilities where you have f luid transfer, spill
prevent ion is ver y impor ta nt," Bobacher sa id (2).
"So, we find that companies are looking to reduce
the amount of spills at a site because a lot of facili-
ties and processes have that f luid transfer and the
products that we supply."
One category that has increased in popularity in
recent years is single-use equipment, technologies,
or entire systems, a trend noted by Todd Andrews,
global director of Applications and Business Devel-
opment for the Biopharma business at CPC.
W hen it comes to sa fet y, A nd rews sa id si ng le
use used to be a "wild wild West" where ever yone
wanted a customized solution. This was a complex
problem, he sa id, a nd st ressed t he supply cha i n
because manufacturers were of ten stuck mak ing
different assemblies for the different demands of
their various customers. But these suppliers have
since adapted.
"What we're seeing now is a lot of forward-think-
ing end users tr ying to break up—we call it 'break
up the octopus'," Andrews said (3). "Instead of this
giant tubing assembly, how do you break it up into
the common subassemblies? And you almost can
treat it like a Lego, where you may have a 'T' or a
cross and you can basically customize at the point
of use, instead of customizing with the OEM [origi-
nal equipment manufacturer]. And if you're an OEM
The show floor at INTERPHEX 2025 at the Javits Center in New York City, April 1,
2025. Image Credit: © Patrick Lavery - MJH Life Sciences
