By: IPP Bureau
Last updated : October 12, 2026 7:11 am
New industry collaboration addresses pharma's most complex development challenges and expedites patient access to breakthrough therapies
Rockwell Automation has become a founding member of the Digital CMC Consortium. As the world’s leading industrial automation and digital transformation company, Rockwell will help the non-profit group develop digital standards and infrastructure. This pre-competitive collaboration aims to significantly accelerate the drug development process.
Today's pharma companies face a triple challenge: accelerating speed-to-market, managing costs, and meeting complex regulatory standards. Yet, traditional Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) workflows—reliant on manual, document-heavy processes—remain a major bottleneck. To support the rise of complex, personalized therapies, CMC must shift to structured digital systems. Digitization will streamline technology transfer, break down data silos, and enable faster, data-driven decisions.
Major leaders across the CMC landscape have joined forces to form the Consortium. Driven by an outcomes-focused approach, this collaborative group brings together pharma, biotech, CDMOs, tech providers, and consultants to solve shared industry challenges. The Consortium was founded by forward-thinking leaders from top organizations—including Rockwell Automation, Novartis, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Takeda, Flagship's Pioneering Medicines, Stellix, ZS Associates, and QbDVision—to harness collective expertise and achieve what no company can do in isolation.
"Digital transformation in life sciences is not just about technology adoption, it is about building new ways of working that improve how therapies are developed and delivered," said Matt Weaver, vice president, global industry – life sciences, Rockwell Automation. "The Consortium reflects the partnership-driven approach needed to advance the pharma industry. With deep life sciences expertise and experience supporting both pharma innovators and the CDMOs, we are proud to work alongside fellow founding members to help shape the future of pharmaceutical manufacturing and CMC digitization, connecting development, manufacturing and commercialization across product lifecycle."