Pharmaceutical Sustainability: Challenge and Matchmaking Forum

Event Overview

Pharmaceutical Sustainability: Challenge and Matchmaking Forum brings together industry, researchers and innovation stakeholders to explore how materials innovation, greener processes and enabling technologies can reduce the environmental impact of pharmaceutical products and supply chains. The aim is to turn broad sustainability ambitions into clearer challenge statements, foster relevant connections and develop potential routes into collaboration, funding or facilities access.

Pharmaceutical sustainability is not a single challenge: it spans every aspect, from materials selection and formulation, through to adoption and end of life within highly regulated environments. This forum is designed to bring those connected challenges into one practical conversation: where are the bottlenecks, which themes should be prioritised, what capabilities already exist, and what collaborations could help move solutions closer to use?

The event will focus on the role of advanced materials, chemical materials design, formulation science, engineering biology-enabled production routes, circular design and translational support in enabling more sustainable pharmaceutical innovation.

Through short talks, challenge pitches, themed matchmaking and focused discussion, attendees will be invited to share practical needs, identify relevant expertise and shape potential follow-on activity. The event will also help attendees understand where Royce capabilities, facilities and networks may support challenge development and future collaboration. Attendance is welcome with or without a challenge pitch.

Who Should Attend?

This event is aimed at people working across the pharmaceutical sector, life sciences, materials, sustainability and translation.

• Pharmaceutical, biotech, CDMO, consumer healthcare and supply chain organisations looking to reduce the environmental impact of products, processes or packaging
• Academic researchers working in sustainable materials, pharmaceutical sciences, formulation, manufacturing, analytical science, biomedical materials, chemical materials design, engineering biology and related areas
• SMEs and technology developers with solutions relevant to greener materials, bio-based production, packaging, processing, measurement, waste reduction or circularity
• Innovation, sustainability, regulatory, manufacturing and translational professionals working across health and life sciences
• Organisations interested in collaborative funding, facilities access, applied research partnerships and routes to adoption

Event Objectives

The forum is intended to move beyond general discussion and create a structured route from shared challenges to possible collaborations. By the end of the event, attendees should have a clearer sense of priority challenge areas, relevant contacts and potential next steps.

• Surface priority sustainability challenges from pharmaceutical, life sciences and supply chain partners
• Explore where advanced materials, formulation, engineering biology, process innovation and circular design could contribute to practical solutions
• Match those challenges with relevant academic, technical, translational and Royce expertise, facilities and networks
• Identify which challenges could be developed into collaborative projects, funding bids, access schemes or future programme activity
• Strengthen links between sustainable materials, biomedical materials, chemical materials design, engineering biology and the wider health and life sciences innovation community

Draft Agenda

10:00–10:30 Arrival, Coffee & Informal Networking

10:30–10:40 Welcome & Introduction

10:40–11:00 Industry Perspectives: Sustainability Challenges Across Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Sectors

11:00–11:30 Challenge Pitches: Unmet Needs, Bottlenecks and Collaboration Opportunities

11:30–12:15 Themed Matchmaking Session

12:15–13:15 Lunch and Networking

13:15–14:15 Collaboration Deep Dives: From Challenge Statements to Project Ideas

14:15–14:35 Closing Discussion: Next Steps and Follow-on Activity

14:35–15:00 Close and Final Networking

Challenge Pitch Information

Attendees may optionally submit a short challenge pitch describing a sustainability need, technical bottleneck, adoption barrier or collaboration opportunity relevant to pharmaceutical products, processes, materials or supply chains.

Example themes could include sustainable packaging, greener excipients or formulation approaches, engineering biology-enabled production routes, bio-based or recyclable materials, lower-waste manufacturing, sterilisation challenges, analytical methods for sustainability, lifecycle assessment, circularity, and routes to scale-up or adoption.

Selected contributors will be invited to deliver a short 5-minute pitch during the morning session. Pitches should be practical and challenge-led rather than sales-focused, with the aim of helping others understand the need, the context and the type of expertise or collaboration that could help.

Pitch slots are limited and will be confirmed following review of submissions and programme availability. Challenge areas identified through the pitch session will help shape the afternoon matchmaking and deep-dive discussions.