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Interview with the Winner of the 7^th CEE Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Excellence Award!

- Manufacturing category - 

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To learn more about the award winning project, we interviewed Luka Peternel, Head Pharmaceutical Development at Sandoz Development Center Slovenia.

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  Please introduce your company and yourself.

Luka Peternel  "My name is Luka Peternel, Head Pharmaceutical Development in Sandoz Development Center (SDC) Slovenia. The center specializes in the development of technologically demanding and complex products. Most of our operations revolve around oncology medicines and medicines for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, allergic rhinitis, migraine, insomnia, urological and biliary diseases, as well as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). SDC Slovenia is part of Lek Pharmaceuticals and Sandoz Product Development, which is an important part of an international pharmaceutical company Novartis. We merge our more than 75 years of experience, knowledge and achievements in developing and producing high quality pharmaceutical products with Novartis’ organizational units around the world. We develop, manufacture and market effective, safe and high-quality medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients.

At SDC Slovenia, we pay great attention to our innovation ecosystem, innovation culture, continuous learning, collaboration with global teams within Novartis and with scientific institutions in Slovenia. We strive for scientific excellence, use of data science and modeling, simplification and acceleration of development processes, introduction of automation of laboratory work and digitization. Through our digital strategy, we aim to contribute to more efficient development of new generic medicines, making them accessible to a wider range of patients worldwide."

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  What were the major achievements after the project had been implemented?

Luka Peternel  "The new state-of-the-art laboratories are fully operational in SDC Slovenia for the development of solid and parenteral pharmaceutical dosage forms containing highly potent APIs. We have developed several laboratory prototypes, which are now successfully progressing toward the late development phases. With an investment worth 7.5 millions EUR, we are further enhancing the importance of our oncology portfolio. Additionally, the opening of new laboratories for working with highly potent APIs is a good example of Sandoz's excellent cooperation with external partners."

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  What was the innovation within your project, which made you win the 7th CEE Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Excellence Award?

Luka Peternel  "In our new laboratories, we have the capability to work with highly potent APIs. Our vision was to ensure the safe handling of highly potent products with cutting edge technologies. While setting up the new laboratories, we used virtual reality twin with the creation of a project in a 3D environment. This allowed us to deploy equipment more efficiently in the laboratory. In addition to safe manufacturing, fully automated dissolution and analytics provided added values not just from a safety perspective but also in terms of fast turn-around time and automation setup."

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  How do you think the recognition is helping you to gain further publicity?

Luka Peternel  "The Sandoz brand is a seal of quality. Healthcare professionals around the world trust it as a symbol of high quality, affordable medicines. The recognition is additional proof of this and indicates that we are in an excellent position to develop hard-to-make affordable medicines for millions of patients around the world."

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  In your opinion, how is the award supporting the developments of manufacturing excellence solutions in the CEE region?

Luka Peternel  "Recognitions and awards are always inspiring and motivate us. It gives us the confidence and courage to deliver breakthrough innovations and unlock our potential. The latter is of paramount importance, as potential is just potential unless you transform it into a tangible product – in this case high quality medicines that can save the lives of patients worldwide. I hope that this award will also be an inspiration for the pharmaceutical community in the CEE region to take on tough challenges and I believe that dedication and hard work can make the seemingly impossible possible."

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   Which are the biggest challenges your department or company is currently facing? What type of new solutions or methods are you planning to introduce in your current and upcoming projects?

Luka Peternel  "Competition is always there, markets are unpredictable, COVID situation is luckily settling down. I strongly believe that if the team has the knowledge, is keen to learn and has passion to deliver, challenges can be solved. In particular if such values & behaviors are combined with cutting edge technologies of manufacturing, pharmaceutical sciences and digital breakthroughs."

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  Are you planning to apply for the award again in the future during PHARM Connect?

Luka Peternel  "Of course, as long as we will deliver breakthroughs in manufacturing sciences."

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  Are you planning to attend PHARM Connect 2023?

Luka Peternel  "Why not :), great setup, great event, great networking opportunity, great opportunity to share knowledge and learn from our peers."

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  Is there anything you would like to add?

Luka Peternel  "A big thank you to the team in Lek Pharmaceuticals and Sandoz Development Center Slovenia that made this success possible. We need to continue driving this spirit of developing new knowledge, collaborating with academia and other scientific institutions, optimizing and digitalizing work processes, and investing in new technologies to ensure great efficiencies, the safety of our people, and better medicines for patients. These pillars are essential for our success and only when combined with an empowered team can vision become reality."

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We are passionate about bringing together annually the best representatives and innovators of the pharmaceutical industry to create a valuable and engaged professional network in Central and Eastern Europe. If you think your solution is cutting-edge and should be recognized by the industry, apply for the next CEE Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Excellence Award and put your business in the spotlight by presenting your solution at the upcoming Congress!

MORE ABOUT THE AWARD

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