The winners of the 2026 CPHI Pharma Awards have been announced in Milan, with companies, projects and industry leaders recognized across 15 categories covering drug development, manufacturing, sustainability, digital transformation and supply chain innovation. The awards were presented October 6 during the CPHI Celebration at CPHI Milan, bringing together pharmaceutical executives, exhibitors, nominees and other industry professionals from around the world.

Hundreds of submissions were considered by an independent judging panel made up of pharmaceutical industry specialists. The awards are intended to highlight developments ranging from new drug delivery and manufacturing technologies to initiatives addressing sustainability and industry-wide collaboration. This year’s program placed a significant emphasis on partnerships and transformation, reflecting the increasingly interconnected nature of pharmaceutical development and manufacturing.

Among the winners, Evonik received the Digital Transformation award for its Self Driving Labs initiative, while Touchlight was recognized in the Innovation Catalyst category for its cell-free Doggybone DNA (dbDNA) platform. In manufacturing, Anemocyte won the Manufacturing Excellence award for AMCAP, its approach to enzymatic mRNA manufacturing. Almac Clinical Services received the Supply Chain Excellence award for Almac Adapt, developed to support supply chain requirements associated with ultra-rare gene therapies.

Sustainability featured in two categories. Celtic Renewables won Sustainable Pharma Excellence for its work in green chemicals, while AstraZeneca was recognized in the Sustainable Transformation Partnership category for its “Further Together” initiative. Other awards focused on advances in formulation and drug delivery. SeraNovo won the Finished Formulation category for NanoGlass, a formulation platform targeting oral BCS IV and beyond-rule-of-five drugs. ForgeStop and EM Microelectronic jointly received the Drug Delivery, Devices & Packaging Innovation award for a connected pharmaceutical packaging system designed to support track-and-trace and authentication. MODAG won the API Development category for its combined platform addressing neurodegeneration, incorporating SAA-based early diagnostics and the disease-modifying therapy emrusolmin.

The awards also recognized initiatives aimed at improving access to medicines. The Medical and Pharmaceutical Industry Development Agency of Uzbekistan received the Excellence With Purpose award for its work on medicine affordability, incorporating reference pricing, digital monitoring and public access measures.

Partnerships were another major theme. Aurigene Pharmaceutical Services won True Partnership Excellence for its multiparty collaboration around zoliflodacin, while Primogene received the Start-Up Initiative award for its cell-free enzymatic biomanufacturing platform.

The individual awards recognized leadership across the pharmaceutical sector. Dr Pauline van der Wijst-Janssen, Product Development Manager at DFE Pharma, was named Future Leader. Emma Charles, Senior Vice President Europe Markets at Bristol Myers Squibb, received the Woman of the Year award, while Adalvo CEO Anil Okay was named CEO of the Year.

The CPHI Pharma Awards are part of CPHI’s broader program highlighting developments across the pharmaceutical supply chain, from early-stage drug development and manufacturing technologies to sustainability, digitalization and industry leadership.

Learn more at www.cphi.com.