26 CHEMICALS KNOWLEDGE HUB Issue 2 / October 2025 ROUNDTABLE is by far the fastest-growing news source for younger professionals. It appeals to the under 40s professionals, who say they don’t have time to read trade news, but want to stay informed. This revealed a clear gap for pharma that Biobeat fills. De Facto is incredibly well-placed because we consume vast amounts of trade news each week. However, we’re not competing with media – we always credit our sources – but rather adding value as we make it easier for busy professionals to get insights quickly while encouraging them to explore media articles for depth. It’s grown incredibly quickly this Summer and we have reached 25k subscribers in just a few months, with 100k expected next year. So, for me, the trend is in-person video analysis and that’s going to grow and grow – multiplatform. LinkedIn is now a mature environment for this, again thanks to 24/7 Biopharma initiatives, but over the next five years TikTok will become increasingly important, given its ability to target audiences directly (even when they don’t follow you). So, if you see us reporting the news at CPHI Frankfurt, that’s what we’re doing it for. What is the true essence of CPHI? AH. One thing people often overlook is that CPHI, DCAT and BIO are like a ‘University of Pharma’, not because of the sessions, but because of the conversations on the ground. Talking to senior people, hearing their stories and understanding the trends behind the headlines teaches you more than any session can. For young professionals, my number one tip is: don’t just focus on collecting business cards and having other people plan all your activity. Get out there, speak to as many senior people as you can and learn how the business really works. Even if you have immediate sales goals, nurturing your network is the essence of CPHI and of real long-term value. I’ve had countless informal conversations where I simply listened and learned, and later those same people remembered me when they needed communications support. Now, I make a point of offering my contacts unique insights and information they can’t get anywhere else – that way I become a trusted source of trends and intelligence, not just another face in the crowd. How do these moments shape your perspective on the value of attending CPHI? AH. It’s no secret that I love CPHI. It’s the one time each year, with DCAT and BIO running a little behind in scale, where the entire industry truly comes together and it’s the chance encounters that make it so powerful. We are a global industry and therefore it can be difficult to meet people and build real relationships. I love CPHI because you can deepen any partnership very quickly. A 30-minute in-person meeting where someone might casually mention that they brought their family from the US because the event is in Barcelona this year (@Informa, please let’s go back there!) can become the foundation of a relationship that lasts for years. For a PR professional like me, knowledge is the catalyst for everything we do and I believe knowledge is also everything for senior executives, too. Being on the ground and picking up those little snippets of information is incredibly valuable. I still remember a meeting eight years ago when a new biotech was pitching oligos as ‘the next big thing.’ A senior CDMO executive was in the room, took that insight and ran with it – building from nothing to today that same global CDMO is now by far the largest oligo/ peptide API producer. Of course, it didn’t hurt that GLP-1s also came along in between, but the lesson is clear: they had capital to deploy, and they went out to market to listen and gather the intelligence they needed to make big investment decisions. Where did they get that depth of knowledge? Not just from pipeline data, as you might think, but from conversations – speaking widely across the industry at CPHI and BIO. You’ve featured countless pharma leaders on Molecule to Market, what role has CPHI played in surfacing voices that might otherwise go unheard? RS. CPHI has been hugely influential. It really is the global meeting place for our industry. Every year, I meet an incredible mix of people, from big pharma’s external manufacturing leaders to CDMO CEOs and investors, and those connections often lead directly to podcast guests. Sometimes, I’ll meet someone who introduces me to someone else at the show and that chain of introductions ends up on Molecule to Market. Speaking, hosting panels and being visible on stage also creates a natural flow of interest in the podcast. RAMAN SEHGAL Host Molecule to Market
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