On November 24-25 2025, the pharmaceutical industry leaders gathered at the AUTOMA+ Congress - the premier international pharma automation and digitalisation event - to discuss pathways to successful digital transformation and build new business connections. This year, the Congress was supported by renowned partners: Merck, ESTEVE, Octapharma, GSK, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma (Technology Partner) and EUSPA (Innovation Partner). Their involvement helped to create a productive environment for knowledge exchange and professional growth.

AUTOMA+ 2025 brought together 260 delegates from 125 leading pharma, biotech and technology companies, uniting engineers, project managers, C-level executives, digital transformation experts and innovators across the industry. Among the top technology-driven players attending the Congress were Innowise (Principal Sponsor), SCARLETRED Holding GmbH (Platinum Sponsor) and more.

“The most important aspect of AUTOMA+ 2025 is that it’s super interdisciplinary, it bridges different business areas, and we’ve met a lot of people with whom we’ve never talked before, and by talking with such highly diverse audience you come up with new ideas, you see new applications and new opportunities. I think that’s the biggest advantage of AUTOMA+ so you can think outside the box and meet people who you would never expect to meet”, - Harald Schnidar (CEO at SCARLETRED Holding GmbH).

AUTOMA+ 2025 Business Programme Highlights: Pharma 4.0, Automation, AI and Digital Excellence

The extensive Business Programme featured 54 expert speakers, 4 leaders’ panels, 4 thematic sessions, 2 discussion-based roundtables and one interactive workshop. Delegates explored global trends in pharma automation, digitalisation strategies, AI-driven R&D, robotics, smart supply chains and advancements in labelling, packaging and regulatory digital excellence.

The session halls became dynamic platforms for discussions, with leaders presenting real case studies and future-shaping concepts that are expected to accelerate pharmaceutical manufacturing automation and support the global shift towards Pharma 4.0.

“Insightful, engaging, inspiring”, - these are three words that Alrike Aschauer (Engineer/Scientist (Plasma Innovation Lab)) from Takeda used to describe her AUTOMA+ 2025 experience.

Interactive Workshop: How Boehringer Ingelheim Uses Digital Plant Modelling to Power Innovation and Sustainability

One of the most engaging sessions of Day 1 was the interactive workshop hosted by Boehringer Ingelheim (AUTOMA+ 2025 Technology Partner). Led by Joachim Bär (Director DevOps CellCulture), the workshop explored how digital plant modelling is transforming the way pharmaceutical facilities are designed, optimised and operated.

Key takeaways included:

• holistic USM/DSM digital models provide a full picture of facilities and processes;

• models support technology transfers, early facility-fit checks, site-to-site comparisons and gap analyses;

• digital models help eliminate bottlenecks, reduce process time and safely test new technologies before adoption;

• mechanistic components enable sensitivity studies and deeper KPI optimisation (capacity, sustainability, cycle time, cost).
  

“Combined plant and process models have a strong potential to enhance decision-making, improve operational performance and ultimately drive efficiency and cost reduction in commercial facilities”, - Joachim Bär, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma.

Participants highlighted this Workshop as one of the most interesting, practical and productive discussions of AUTOMA+ 2025. Its interactive nature and real-world relevance was highly appreciated.

AUTOMA+ Focus Exhibition: Where Innovation Comes to Life

With 40 exhibitors, the Focus Exhibition was a vibrant hub showcasing AI solutions, robotics, cleanroom digitalisation, packaging innovations, laboratory automation technologies and more. Highlights included:

• Shape Process Automation presenting one of their core robots;
  

• Blue Ocean Robotics showcasing the UVC disinfection robot using pure UVC light;
  

• Systec & Solutions GmbH (AUTOMA+ 2025 Coffee Break Sponsor) demonstrating cleanroom digitalisation tools, including their new life science label series;
  

• Pepperl + Fuchs displaying advanced HMI solutions for pharmaceutical operations;
  

• Asyril SA and 3P innovation joined the Congress together to present Asycube Clean 230 - flexible feeder for hygienic applications designed specifically for cleanroom and pharmaceutical environments.
  

For many participants, the Focus Exhibition became the central space to explore practical tools, ask technical questions and identify partners for their next automation and digitalisation projects.

Gala Dinner: Celebrating the 5th Anniversary of AUTOMA+

To celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Congress, AUTOMA+ hosted an elegant Gala Dinner at the historic Casino Baumgarten, a 19th century architectural monument known for its timeless charm. The guests enjoyed jazz music, house wines and a warm networking atmosphere that inspired meaningful exchanges:

“It’s always a good inspiration to go out and see what the industry is doing, what others are working on and which challenges they face. I really liked the Gala Dinner because you can go to some tables and just have a short talk with people about the challenges they are facing and the solutions they are thinking about. It’s always good for us to have this exchange”, - Florian Leinenkugel, (Project Manager at Bayer, representing eschbach GmbH).

The evening featured the traditional BGS Lottery, exciting Wine Casino, gifts from BGS Group and partners and, of course, a delicious anniversary cake. The Gala Dinner created memorable moments and set the tone for the next day of collaboration and innovation.

Networking That Never Stops: 170+ Meetings and 20+ Hours of Discussions

One of the standout features and main goals of AUTOMA+ is forging connections and promoting productive networking. Our sponsors also experienced the convenience of a unique BGS Group hallmark: Personal managers pre-arrange meetings based on each Sponsor’s requests, so they could sit down with target companies to discuss ongoing projects and potential collaborations. Alex Chekel (Digital transformation and innovation advisor) from Innowise, AUTOMA+ 2025 Principal Sponsor, mentioned that their work with the Personal Manager was very successful and helped the Innowise team meet a lot of companies of their interest.

“We’re becoming long-term partners of the AUTOMA+ Congress, and the Sponsorship package matched our expectations perfectly”, - Alex Chekel.

Over two days, delegates engaged in continuous networking across the session halls, exhibition area, Coffee Break Zone and B2B meeting room resulting in 170+ business meetings and 20+ hours of networking expected to evolve into real collaborations.

“I found it very interesting to talk to people with different perspectives. For our project, M-Trust, we’re looking for partners, we’re looking for potential pain points and that’s definitely something I’ve got out of this Congress: learned about perspectives, pain points, use cases and most importantly, we had several serendipities talking to the companies I would have never talked to”, - Harald Guenther, Head of Technology and Device Development at Merck.

Ride the Digital Wave: Join AUTOMA+ 2026 in Zurich

As AUTOMA+ 2025 concluded, participants left with inspiration, new insights and new partnerships. This Congress has undoubtedly set a high standard for future events. We want to extend our sincere thanks to the sponsors, partners and all the delegates whose involvement once again proved that the possibilities for progress and innovation are limitless when professionals engage in open dialogue and collaboration.

“Every partnership, every discussion and every meeting at AUTOMA+ brings us closer to a more innovative, sustainable and digital pharma industry. Together, we move the sector forward”, - Yuliya Glazyrina, AUTOMA+ Congress Director.

We are excited to announce that preparations for AUTOMA+ 2026 are already underway. Join us in Zurich on 16-17 November 2026 for the next edition of the Pharmaceutical Automation and Digitalisation Congress.

Registration is now open: learn more and secure your place