The winners of the CPHI Pharma Awards 2026 were announced on 6 October during the CPHI Celebration at CPHI Milan, recognising innovation and achievements across the pharmaceutical industry.
This year’s awards attracted hundreds of entries across 15 categories, covering drug development, digital transformation, drug delivery, devices and packaging, manufacturing, supply chain, sustainability and industry leadership.
The awards highlight initiatives addressing some of the sector’s key challenges, from advancing drug development and improving manufacturing processes to strengthening supply chains and reducing environmental impact.
Among the winners, Evonik received the Digital Transformation award for its Self Driving Labs, while ForgeStop won in Drug Delivery, Devices & Packaging Innovation for its collaboration with EM Microelectronic on secure connected packaging for pharmaceutical track-and-trace and authentication. In manufacturing, Anemocyte was recognised for its AMCAP approach to enzymatic mRNA manufacturing.
Sustainability and collaboration were also prominent in this year’s results. Celtic Renewables won Sustainable Pharma Excellence for its work on green chemicals, while AstraZeneca received the Sustainable Transformation Partnership award for its Further Together: Partnering for Systemic Change initiative. Almac Clinical Services was recognised for supply chain excellence in ultra-rare gene therapy.
Other winners included MODAG in API Development, SeraNovo in Finished Formulation, Touchlight in Innovation Catalyst, and Aurigene Pharmaceutical Services in True Partnership Excellence. The Excellence With Purpose award went to Uzbekistan’s Medical and Pharmaceutical Industry Development Agency for its work on medicine affordability and public access.
The awards also recognised individual achievements. 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 Woman of the Year; and Anil Okay of Adalvo was named CEO of the Year.
According to Tara Dougal, Events Director, Pharma Portfolio at Informa Markets, the quality of this year’s entries reflected the breadth of expertise and collaboration driving progress across the industry.
The awards are judged by an independent panel of international industry experts, selected for their knowledge and objectivity. Loic Bishop, Global Change Facilitator at BioPhorum and one of the 2026 judges, noted that the submissions demonstrated both the pace of innovation in pharma and the growing importance of collaboration in addressing industry challenges.
Sponsored by the Industrial Technology Research Institute and Department of Industrial Technology, MOEA; Taiwan Pharmaceutical Alliance; and IQVIA, the CPHI Pharma Awards form part of CPHI’s broader initiative to recognise the companies, teams and individuals contributing to progress across the pharmaceutical ecosystem.