From big pharma manufacturing lead to CDMO CEO
From Molecule to Market: Inside the outsourcing space by Raman Sehgal
March 13, 2026 · 53 min · Episode 263
About this episode
The episode features an interview with Joerg Ahlgrimm, CEO of SK pharmteco, discussing his journey in the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector and insights into the CDMO business.
In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Joerg Ahlgrimm, CEO SK pharmteco. Your host, Raman Sehgal, discusses the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain with Joerg, covering: His journey from East Germany to leading global manufacturing organisations. How building and integrating acquired CDMO relationships ultimately led him to Lonza, where he helped scale the manufacturing network from fifteen to thirty five sites worldwide. What he learned about the “sticky” nature of the CDMO business, and the unforgiving reality of being a CDMO partner when execution does not go to plan. The leap from the scale and structure of Lonza in Basel to becoming employee number four at a CDMO start up in Philadelphia. Why his vision for a small molecule CDMO is to be easy to work with and present across the key global manufacturing regions. Why, despite the rise of blockbuster GLP one therapies, he believes the future lies in small volume, highly targeted, and complex to manufacture personalised medicines. Joerg Ahlgrimm is a global operations and supply chain executive with more than 25 years of leadership…
People in this episode
Host: Raman Sehgal
Guest: Joerg Ahlgrimm
Topics covered
- pharmaceutical manufacturing
- biotechnology
- CDMO
- global supply chain
- personalized medicine
Keywords
- CDMO
- pharmaceuticals
- biotechnology
- manufacturing
- personalized medicine
- supply chain
- global operations
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: SK pharmteco, Lonza
Places: East Germany, Philadelphia, Basel
More episodes of Molecule to Market: Inside the outsourcing space
- From Lab to Boardroom at Sartorius · June 12, 2026 · 50 min
- CDMO Live Europe: State of Contract Manufacturing 2026 · May 29, 2026 · 35 min
- Codexis at TIDES - Stereochemistry in RNA Manufacturing: Signal or Noise? · May 22, 2026 · 51 min
- Navigating global supply chains at Big Pharma · May 15, 2026 · 60 min
- Bora Live Panel - The Voice of the Customer · May 8, 2026 · 56 min
- The Making of a CGT CDMO Builder · May 1, 2026 · 58 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Molecule to Market: Inside the outsourcing space podcast page.