On track at CPHI Barcelona - The Track Sponsor interview: Procaps

In our packed out content sessions at CPHI Barcelona this year we focus on some of the hottest topics coming up in the pharma industry, with each track sponsored by a leading expert in the field.   

Could you please give an overview of Procaps and what your key priorities are as a company? 

Procaps Group is a LATAM pharmaceutical company dedicated to delivering innovation and health to the world through sophisticated pharmaceutical solutions. Our business model is structured to enable business growth and focus. This is why we are divided into two business model: B2C and B2B. On the B2C space, we are very strong in Latin America. We have our own presence in 13 countries with speed and organisation which lets us bring not only more products to patients each year, but also more innovative products. Innovation sits at the heart of our organisation, which is why our innovative delivery mechanisms in Softgels and related technologies allow us to transform Branded Generics into truly differentiated products, and we have extensive scientific expertise developing more than 120 new products per year. We’re not only diversifying our technologies but we’re also discovering where to fit our products into what type of patient and categories along all therapeutic lines. We have a specialised team and more than 5000 hearts beating at the same time in LATAM working under one purpose: to bring innovative solutions to the market for healthier lives. 

Through our B2B model, as we call ourselves an iCDMO, we leverage on our B2C knowledge and expertise on how to bring innovative products understanding the patients ‘needs and markets, our broad suite of technologies and formats, and our deep scientific, manufacturing, and development expertise, to deliver all this to our strategic partners both in the healthcare and nutritional fields. We are a leading pharmaceutical integral CDMO specialised in Softgels advanced technologies, the largest CDMO in Latin America, and a top three company globally in Softgel products, end-to end solutions from development to delivery. We are indeed a strategic partner with global reach. Our products are sold and distributed in more than 50 markets across the world. 

As a Latin American company, we’re still facing a lot of challenges. We are obsessed with innovation and with capturing time-to-market opportunities, enabling us to give patients in Latin America access to products at affordable prices. We help our customers bring new products to the market that deliver their patients an exceptional experience when taking their medication. This is where our innovative DNA stems from – bringing new formats to patients and consumers to treat themselves without an unpleasant delivery experience. 

Procaps is sponsoring CPHI Barcelona’s ‘Manufacturing 4.0’ track – how is digitalisation of processes and technologies driving manufacturing for the future and what are some key takeaways from this track? 

We consider innovation as a vehicle to achieve our sustainable goals. If we think from a social perspective, we aim at developing formulations to increase therapeutics effectiveness, safety, and adherence to treatment. But, if we consider the environmental impacts of developing, manufacturing, and distributing health solutions, such as emissions and waste, we might face a trade-off scenario. In this context, digitalization and technological developments serves as a vehicle to generate solutions for healthier people and a healthier planet. 

We continuously evaluate opportunities for technological development from a product life cycle perspective. It means that from a very early stage, like the product design, we are considering important potential benefits. 

As we specialise in innovative oral delivery technologies, we are incorporating new technologies across the whole R&D process. We are working on a group of technological developments framed under the Pharma 4.0 concept. For example, through big data and the Internet of Things, we started to adapt our analytical processes to reduce the time to verify parameters in finished products. Conventionally it takes hours; currently we only need a few minutes. When we scale up this process innovation to groups of different batches, it represents an important gain. Additionally, we are conducting pilots to integrate artificial intelligence into new product development. We aim to increase our speed in completing formulation phases and developing analytical methods by over 50% . Furthermore, we are continuously evaluating automation opportunities. The automation executed initiatives have reduced the time to develop some activities, and increased data integrity and information security levels. All these advances in productivity are translated into a lower demand for resources, such as energy, water, and raw materials, as well as a lower rate of waste generation. 

An important portion of our efforts is targeted to fixed dose combinations. For example, Unigel® is a proprietary technology that enables to create a single product by combining different pharmaceutical forms and compounds with low compatibility. This technology offers a broad range of opportunities to design, develop, and manufacture products to enhance treatment adherence and effectiveness, while using less packaging material and demanding less resources and fuels for storage and distribution. In 2023 we launched a double-chamber syringe with similar benefits in terms of treatment and environment. 

What challenges face the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector when implementing digital transformations and technologies? 

The pharmaceutical industry faces significant challenges in bringing new drugs to market due to the complexities of the R&D process. These challenges include high costs, lengthy development timelines, and a low success rate. In response to these challenges, a new approach to R&D has emerged: R&D 4.0. 

R&D 4.0 leverages advanced technologies such as Deep Learning, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and 3D Printing, among others, to streamline the drug development process and reduce time-to-market. It is evident that the role of these technologies is critical to improve the pharmaceutical development process.  

However, personalised medicines, real-world evidence (RWE) data, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are advancements that need to be reviewed and framed under a specific regulatory scenario. Sometimes, we think that scientific advancement is running faster than regulations – and somehow it is – and the effort to keep up with innovation is challenging. In the end, this is a collaborative effort, where we see it more like a ‘relay race’. There is no individual winner, we win together (Innovation & Regulations) or there is no win.  

New technologies and data analysis will sit at the heart of quality assurance in the near future. AI and ML are already being used by forward-thinking CDMOs to predict process problems and focus resources on key points to meet regulations to guarantee consistent compliance. Having a real-time visibility in the process and its data will allow an efficient productive and predictive quality sense for manufacturers.

What do you hope to bring to CPHI Barcelona with the Manufacturing 4.0 track? 

By attending the Manufacturing 4.0 track session, attendees will be able to explore with us the role of these technologies to improve the pharmaceutical development process with real-world case studies performed, including the utilisation of 3D-printing technology in the development of complex and customised drug delivery systems. They will also gain valuable insights into the practical applications of advanced technologies in the drug development process. Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn new skills and strategies, and how Procaps is addressing these key issues the industry is facing today with solutions for faster developments for the industry. 

How do events like CPHI Barcelona help to accelerate these track fields in the wider pharmaceutical industry? 

It’s been a long journey of 20 years and counting. It’s always exciting to come back, and with more to offer. CPHI has been one of the foundational milestones for our business model to grow over the years. I can say that one of the many important partnerships we have today, was made at CPHI and we have continued to nurture those relationships here.  

Ultimately what we do is to help people live better lives – this is the groundwork of our business. This is the space where we meet not only with our current partners but also with prospect partners, network, learn, engage, and grow. It is also where we can spot trends and innovation and bring it back to our teams to start working on new projects and strategies to bring to our partners and ultimately to patients.