AccBio 2025 was co-chaired by Rubi Burlage from Merck (left) and Raghu Shivappa from Takeda (right). Their opening remarks commenced the conference.
The 2025 International Conference on Accelerating Biopharmaceutical Development (AccBio) was held on Apr. 9–11, 2025, in Carlsbad, CA. This was the meeting’s 9th biennial occurrence and was organized by AIChE’s Society for Biological Engineering (SBE).
The conference drew a diverse audience, including thought leaders, research and development (R&D) specialists, industry executives, and senior-level scientists and researchers from academia, industry, and government.
Conference sessions
Presentations were grouped into three sessions: “Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Tools for Accelerating Biopharmaceutical Process Development and Manufacturing,” “Formulation, Drug Product, and Drug Delivery,” and “Business Case for Sustainability.” Experts from various companies in the biopharmaceutical field presented on a variety of topics, including leadership, digital twins, risk management, bioprocess optimization, biotherapeutics, and sustainable manufacturing.
The objective of the conference was to “explore how AI is revolutionizing biomanufacturing with cutting-edge innovations that enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and improve product quality,” explains Rubi Burlage, the associate vice president (VP) of sterile product and device development at Merck & Co., Inc., and co-chair of AccBio 2025.
More about AccBio 2025
The three-day event kicked off with an introduction by co-chairs Burlage and Raghu Shivappa, VP of global biologics and gene therapy process development at Takeda Pharmaceutical Company. Several keynote lectures, presentations, and panel discussions followed, many of which showcased newly engineered, impactful products in the biopharmaceutical industry. For instance, Victoria Sluzky from Elektrofi presented on Hypercon microparticle suspensions, a technology that enables subcutaneous biotherapeutic delivery at high doses.
Another presentation, given by Angela Coxon from Amgen, focused on the development of IMDELLTRA, a T-cell engager molecule that targets delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3) for the treatment of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC).
The final day of the event featured two panel discussions. The first, which highlighted opportunities for accelerating biopharmaceutical process development and manufacturing, included panelists Bruce Lawler (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Glen Bolton (Amgen), Stuti Agarwal (McKinsey), and Karthik Vaideeswaran (Merck). The second comprised panelists Terrence Dobrowsky (Takeda), Jennifer Pollard (Bristol-Myers Squibb), and Sachin Mittal (Merck), who discussed acceleration levers and AI for biotherapeutics.
The 10th AccBio conference will be held in 2027. More information will be available on the AIChE website as the event date approaches.
This article originally appeared in the Institute News column in the June 2025 issue of CEP. Members have access online to complete issues, including a vast, searchable archive of back-issues found at www.aiche.org/cep.
