Main Conference Day 2 (29th April 2026) - CET/CEST (Cent Europe Summer, GMT+2)
Lace up your trainers for the BPI Europe 5k! It’s the fastest way to reach your target yield of morning energy. Fresh air, fast tracks, and the best networking in Vienna - brought to you by Novasign.
- Meet: 7:00am
- Start: 7:15am
All abilities welcome, staff will be there to chaperone attendees who are both running or walking.
- Giancarlo Francese, PhD - Senior Program Officer, Gates Foundation
- Renske Hesselink - Director PDM Innovations, CEPI
Explore a showcase of scientific excellence. Discover the latest data and technical breakthroughs in our dedicated Poster Hall in the Exhibit Hall. Engage directly with the authors to discuss their findings, methodology, and results during this focused networking break.
- Lekan Daramola - Consultant, LD BioConsulting Limited
Maximising correct heterodimer assembly by synergy between viral vector engineering & host cell engineering
Implementation of advanced analytical strategies in early screening process
Enabling clone selection based on quality attributes, not just titre
Increasing final yield of correctly formed bi-specific antibody
- Preethi Krishnaraj - Post.Doc, Boehringer Ingelheim
- Michael Butler - Principal Investigator, Cell Technology, NIBRT
- Bhagya Yatipanthalawa - Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne / ARC Digital Bioprocess Development Hub
- Ernest Šprager - Expert Science & Technology, DSPD, Novartis Technical Research & Development
- Johannes Buyel - Head of Department, BOKU, Austria
- Paul Cashen - Process Expert Commercialisation & Optimisation, BioPhorum (Sartorius)
- Jan Schrooten - CEO, Antleron
- Weitao Jia, Ph.D. - Director, Pre-Pivotal Biologics Analytical Development and Product Characterization, Gilead Sciences
- Ignasi Bofarull-Manzano - : Industrial PhD Candidate, Senior CMC Data Scientist and Consultant, RWTH Aachen University
- Moo Sun Hong - Assistant Professor, Seoul National University
Have a Solution for This Challenge?
This session is your platform to demonstrate leadership and technical expertise. Present your data, case studies, and innovative solutions to a targeted audience of senior scientists and engineers looking to solve hurdles in their production processes.
To learn more about sponsoring this session, contact us at Partners@informaconnectls.com
- Lekan Daramola - Consultant, LD BioConsulting Limited
- Daniel Fleischanderl - Head of Upstream Development, Development Operations Austria, Boehringer Ingelheim
- Rochelle Aw - Assistant Professor in the School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham
- Melanie Dannemeyer - Associate Director, Biopharma Drug Substance, AstraZeneca
- Patrick Harnedy - Senior Principal Engineer, Eli Lilly
- Sebastian Schwaminger - Associate Professor, Medical University of Graz
CDMOs and pharmaceutical companies face ongoing challenges of maximizing downstream processing efficiency, reducing operational costs, and expanding global operations without sacrificing product quality. Achieving these goals demands the careful selection of purification technologies that can withstand higher concentrations of caustic cleaning-in-place (CIP) solution, minimize ligand leakage, and optimize processes to prevent aggregation . These solutions must also offer extended life cycles, ensuring continued performance and productivity.
- Ian Kerr - Field Specialist II, Ecolab Life Sciences
- Subash Ramamoorthy - Principal Automation & Robotics, Bayer AG
- Volker Huppert - Chief Development Officer, Glycostem Therapeutics
- Weitao Jia, Ph.D. - Director, Pre-Pivotal Biologics Analytical Development and Product Characterization, Gilead Sciences
- Peter Neubauer - Chair for Bioprocess Engineering, Berlin University of Technology (TU Berlin), Germany
- Christian Witz - CEO, SimVantage GmbH
- Kyle Zingaro - Head of Gene Therapy Process Sciences, UCB
- Nikolaus Virgolini - Postdoctoral Researcher, BOKU University
- Stefano Menegatti - Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, NC State University, North Carolina State University
- Uwe Buecheler - Chairman of the Board, Biopharma Cluster South Germany
- Ulrich Rümenapp - Senior Biotech Program Lead, Bayer AG
- Melanie Dannemeyer - Associate Director, Biopharma Drug Substance, AstraZeneca
- Stefano Menegatti - Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, NC State University, North Carolina State University
- Uwe Buecheler - Chairman of the Board, Biopharma Cluster South Germany
- Ulrich Rümenapp - Senior Biotech Program Lead, Bayer AG
- Melanie Dannemeyer - Associate Director, Biopharma Drug Substance, AstraZeneca
- Andy Wiranata Wijaya - Bioprocess Development Lead, Nestlé Product Technology Center
Can automation and process improvements make personalized autologous platforms commercially competitive against allogeneic alternatives?
What are the primary scientific and clinical hurdles for allogeneic therapies, including immune rejection, persistence, and long-term safety?
What is the realistic timeline for in vivo therapies to become mainstream, and could they make ex vivo approaches obsolete?
What does the future hold for these modalities in the next 5-10 years?
- Omkar Kawalekar - Manufacturing & Supply Chain Lead, NextGen Therapies at Deloitte Consulting | Co-Founder, BlueWhale Bio
- Manuel Carrondo - Vice President, Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica (iBET), Portugal
- Steven Fuller - Founder & Director, Race in STEM
- Jason Beckwith, PhD DBA MBA - SVP Talent Science & Thought Leadership, BioTalent
- Alessandro Cataldo, PhD - Process Development Scientist, Takeda
- Eva Aning - Co-Founder & CEO, Quintess Quality AI