AI in Drug Manufacturing: Are We Ready for Industry 5.0?
The next transformation in biopharmaceutical development and manufacturing will not be driven by AI alone. It will be driven by how effectively we combine AI, human expertise, advanced technologies, and a workforce prepared for a fundamentally different way of working.
Industry 5.0 may describe where we are heading, but what can we do today to prepare for that future?
This panel will explore both: what the future of pharmaceutical development and manufacturing could look like, and the practical steps we can begin taking now to get there.
The forces driving change are converging quickly:
🔹 Geopolitical uncertainty and increasingly complex supply chains
🔹 Continued pressure to reduce cost while improving quality and resilience
🔹 Rapid advances in AI-enabled drug discovery and development
🔹 Growing demand for speed, flexibility, and more adaptive manufacturing
🔹 The need to build trust in AI-enabled decisions within a highly regulated industry
🔹 An urgent need to prepare our workforce for new technologies, roles, and ways of working
For biologics manufacturing in particular, AI has the potential to take us beyond simply automating existing processes. The bigger opportunity is to transform how we understand processes, make decisions, predict outcomes, manage variability, transfer knowledge, and continuously improve manufacturing performance.
And as AI accelerates drug discovery and development, an important question emerges: Can manufacturing, quality, and supply chains evolve quickly enough to keep pace?
Technology alone will not answer that question.
Bringing together perspectives from development, data science, manufacturing, and quality, the panel will explore questions including:
🔹 What can development and manufacturing organizations do now to prepare for an AI-enabled future?
🔹 Where can AI create meaningful value today—and what capabilities need to be built for tomorrow?
🔹 As AI accelerates drug discovery and development, how do manufacturing, quality, and supply chains prepare to keep pace?
🔹 How do we build trust in AI-enabled decisions in a highly regulated industry—and what should remain fundamentally human?
🔹 What happens to our roles when AI becomes a partner in scientific and operational decision-making?
🔹 What skills will our workforce need, and how do we begin developing them today?
These are not simply technology questions. They are questions about people, science, quality, culture, leadership, capability, and how we bridge from where we are today to where our industry is going.
And we don't expect the panel to have all the answers.
The audience will be part of the conversation. We want to hear from scientists, engineers, manufacturing professionals, quality leaders, and others navigating this transition. What are you seeing today? What is working? Where are the barriers? And what should we be doing now to prepare for what comes next?
🚀 Join us for an interactive, forward-looking conversation about where our industry is heading, what we can do today to prepare, and how we can collectively shape the future of pharmaceutical development and manufacturing.
🎤 Moderator:
Ryan Takeya, Site Head & Senior Director, Biologics Manufacturing, Pfizer
🎤 Panelists:
Jeremy Shaver, PhD, Sr. Director, Data Science, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pfizer
David Williamson, Vice President, IT and Digitalization, Just - Evotec Biologics
Ricardo Vilanova, Partner, Data and Analytics | Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Automation, EY
Stephen Fox, Executive Director, Analytics & AI Enablement, BMS
Whether you're involved in manufacturing operations, digital transformation, quality, process development, engineering, or supply chain management, this event will provide valuable insights into the practical realities, challenges, and opportunities of AI adoption in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
📅Wednesday, October 21
⏱️5:00 - 8:00 PM
📍Yale Labs, 330 Yale Ave N., Seattle, WA 98109
Each ticket includes hors d’oeuvres and drinks.
Parking: Street parking is available. The Yale & Thomas Garage also offers public parking for $7 for up to 3 hours.
Don't miss this opportunity to learn how leading organizations are leveraging AI to shape the future of drug manufacturing.
The LSTCA is proud to recognize and thank Just – Evotec Biologics, our first Supporting Sponsor. Just – Evotec Biologics is transforming how biologics are developed and manufactured, combining scientific expertise, advanced technologies, and innovative manufacturing approaches to accelerate the journey from molecule to medicine. Its integrated capabilities support greater speed, scalability, flexibility, and efficiency across the biologics development and manufacturing journey. We are proud to have Just – Evotec Biologics as a Supporting Sponsor of LSTCA, helping advance collaboration and innovation across the life sciences ecosystem.
A big thank you to Yale Labs and Jennifer Taylor, Lab Director @ Yale Labs Incubator, for generously supporting us as an in-kind venue sponsor! Yale Labs is a startup incubator and innovation community designed to help founders and emerging companies grow. We’re especially grateful to the Yale Labs team for opening their doors and providing a fantastic space for our community to come together, exchange ideas, and build meaningful connections.
A heartfelt thank-you to BlueTide Quality Partners for becoming an LSTCA Community Sponsor! As a woman- and veteran-owned consulting firm, your blend of deep quality expertise and practical, hands-on guidance helps growing biotech teams strengthen their foundations while keeping innovation moving forward. We’re grateful to have you in our LSTCA community!
A warm welcome and huge thank you to Kanopy Group International for becoming an LSTCA Community Sponsor! We’re grateful to have Kanopy Group International supporting our growing community and the connections, conversations, and collaborations that make the Seattle life science and tech ecosystem so vibrant. Thank you for being part of what we’re building at LSTCA. We’re excited to have you with us!
We’re excited to welcome A2 Foundry as the event sponsor! A2 Foundry's new product, Chrona Actions, is used on a life sciences manufacturing floor, where coordination across operations, quality, engineering, and leadership can leave important decisions scattered across systems and conversations. A special thank you to A2 Foundry, and to Flavia Amaral and Brian Vannoy for supporting this conversation and helping bring the community together.
We’re thrilled to welcome ProBio as the event sponsor! As a global CDMO, ProBio brings deep expertise across biologics, cell and gene therapies, plasmids, viral vectors, mRNA-LNP, and end-to-end drug development and manufacturing. We are excited to have ProBio alongside us and grateful for their support!
We’re grateful to Biocom for supporting this event! Through Biocom Converge, Biocom is bringing together leaders across life science, technology, medtech, digital health, academia, and the broader innovation ecosystem to break down silos and accelerate new ideas in healthcare. Thank you, Biocom, for helping move this important conversation forward!
If you’d like to stay connected with the LSTCA community, be sure to subscribe to our Luma calendar and follow LSTCA on LinkedIn for future events and opportunities.
LSTCA is a professional nonprofit association dedicated to advancing the life science, healthcare, pharma, biotech, medtech, healthtech, medical devices, and tech consulting community in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. https://www.lstca.org/