Image credit: ISPE Singapore 2025
The ISPE Singapore affiliate celebrated its 25th edition on August 27-29, 2025, with its flagship annual Conference & Exhibition, uniting a diverse assembly of industry leaders at Marina Bay Sand Expo, Singapore.
The official opening of the ISPE Singapore event was led by Shanshan Liu, International Board Director of ISPE, Conference Chair of ISPE Singapore, and Technical Director at No deviation, Singapore. The forum kick-started with welcoming remarks by Peiqing Zhang, President of ISPE Singapore and Scientific Director for Asia at Cytiva.
Industry leaders from the pharmaceutical sector convened to explore key themes in quality and innovation. The event underscored the industry's dedication to advancing pharmaceutical development and digital transformation, highlighting potential devices and groundbreaking advancements. The exhibition offered a platform for an in-depth exploration of innovative devices and solutions, showcasing the industry's expertise and leadership in driving pharmaceutical innovation and digital transformation.
Peiqing Zhang, President of ISPE Singapore, said "We are thrilled with the overwhelming response this year, surpassing 2,000 in-person attendees on just the first day—a significant increase over last year. Exhibitors are delighted with the increased footfall, which translates into enhanced exposure for their businesses. One of our speakers also shared that the ISPE conference in Singapore provided an excellent platform to connect with people he wouldn’t have met otherwise. It's incredibly fulfilling to create such an atmosphere for opportunities, bringing together diverse participants to address common challenges in the healthcare and pharmaceuticals industry."
Industry experts from diverse sectors gathered for a pre-conference site tour, workshops, awards & recognitions followed by two days of conferences and panel discussions. The event presented a wide range of topics, open-track programs, and exclusive training sessions. The show was anchored by Power Hour talks, exhibitor demonstrations, lunch-and-learn workshops, and exhibitor presentations, creating an engaging, comprehensive and dynamic experience for attendees.
Over 2,600 attendees from 32 countries participated in a two-day conference dedicated to exploring advancements in the biopharma industry. The event included 74 sessions presented by 109 speakers, open-track programs, 15-minute Power-Hour talks, exhibitor demonstrations, and lunch-and-learn workshops. Participation increased by 30% compared to the 2024 edition, with 50% of Southeast Asia attendees hailing from Malaysia and two-thirds of North Asia participants coming from China.
The event featured several standout highlights, including the Women in Pharma roundtable, which provided a platform for empowering discussions and collaboration among women leaders in the Biopharma industry. Pioneering business executives and aspiring innovators had the opportunity to network and exchange perspectives through a dynamic and dazling networking event, in conjunction with Pharmanite reception, celebrating of the life scinece community's achievements and the opportunity to foster meaningful interactions.
A pre-conference site tour and workshops on pharmaceutical water systems, as well as exclusive ISPE training, were also offered.
Workshops were conducted to help participants adopt a science-based approach to Commissioning and Qualification (C&Q), focusing on user requirements and risk assessment. Additional sessions included maintaining validated cleaning states in pharmaceutical processes, presented by Steris LifeScience, and a practical session on enhancing pharmaceutical manufacturing excellence through digital maturity, led by Emerson.
An ISPE-exclusive training course on Pharmaceutical Water Systems (T35) was offered on 27th August prior to the main conference days, along with site-tours and workshops. The training session extended into the first day of the main conference on September 28th.
Participants attended a pre-conference site tour which provided them with the opportunity to explore 'Wuxi XDC's ADC manufacturing facility' and 'Thermo Fisher Singapore's single-use facility' ahead of the main conference and exhibition.
Over 30 manufacturers and regulators participated in the event, showcasing a strong representation from leading pharmaceutical companies and regulatory agencies. Notable manufacturers included Pfizer, Roche, Novartis, Sanofi, MSD, Jiangsu Hillgene Biopharma, Takeda, Lonza, Amgen, Genentech, WuXi Biologics, Genepeutic Bio, Merck, LOTTE BIOLOGICS, GenScript, and GSK. On the regulatory side, agencies such as WHO, PIC/S, HSA, PMDA, and TGA were present, highlighting the collaborative efforts between industry and regulatory bodies to advance pharmaceutical innovation and ensure patient safety.
A diverse range of exhibitors, workshop facilitators, and contributors also participated in the event, reflecting ISPE’s broad engagement across the pharmaceutical industry. Participants were drawn to the exhibitors from a diverse range of industries, with 22% representing manufacturing sectors spanning pharma, biopharma, and CDMOs, 13% from EPCM companies, and a notable rise in digital and automation providers alongside equipment suppliers.
The conference highlighted groundbreaking initiatives and leadership in pharmaceutical manufacturing and safety. Stephanie Ledwidge, Associate Life Sciences South East Asia at Linesight, Singapore, introduced the Lite Science Capital benchmark initiative, focusing on its role in driving localized impact.
Emer Cooke, Executive Director of the European Medicines Agency, emphasized the importance of regulators keeping pace with innovation in order to facilitate the accessibility to safe, effective and affordable medicines timely. She highlighted the need for global collaboration and strong relationships among regulators, particularly in manufacturing approaches, to avoid barriers to innovation. She highlights the importance of fostering innovation while ensuring medicines' safety and efficacy. She emphasizes the need for a regulatory framework that supports streamlined manufacturing processes and prevents drug shortages.
Cooke also stressesd the significance of regional and global collaboration in addressing the challenges of drug manufacturing and supply, particularly in the context of evolving business strategies and regional needs. Underscoring the European Union's competitive and dynamic regulatory environment, which supports developers throughout the medicines lifecycle. Legislative initiatives like the Critical Medicines Act and the Biotech Act are critical to enhancing manufacturing capacity for essential medicines and bridging the gap between biotech product ideation and market launch. The EMA serves as a central hub in this ecosystem, offering scientific advice, the Innovation Taskforce, and the Quality Innovation Group to guide developers. These mechanisms are designed to translate innovation into safe and effective medicines for patients. Cooke, a strong advocate for innovation across the medicine lifecycle, reaffirms EMA's commitment to accelerating the path from novel approaches to treatments that benefit patients—both human and animal—who need them most.
The 25th anniversary celebration and speakers' dinner were held on August 28, to commemorate the success of ISPE Singapore Affiliate for nearing to three decades.
Shanshan Liu, International Board Director of ISPE, Conference Chair of ISPE Singapore explained that "the next ISPE event in the Asia-Pacific region is scheduled for Malaysia this year. ISPE's next major event is its annual global meeting, held in the U.S. each year. This flagship event is large in scale, with approximately 2,000 to 3,000 participants. It features a diverse range of international speakers, engaging activities, and an extensive agenda. The upcoming ISPE annual meeting will feature several key tracks, including manufacturing operations, ATMP (Advanced Therapy & Medicinal Products), sustainability, and a strong focus on AI / digitalization. In addition to workshops and career development sessions, such as Women in Pharma, a major highlight will be a town hall gathering. This highly anticipated session will bring together regulators and industry leaders to discuss cutting-edge strategies, including the use of AI and digitalization in regulatory assessments, particularly for evaluating novel products.
For more reference please refer www.ispesingapore.org
Biopharma industry is looking forward to the upcoming edition of the ISPE Singapore Affliate.
