Virtual Europe Discussion Group
The Virtual Europe Discussion Group provides opportunities for the broader community of industry, academic, and regulatory professionals to meet and share ideas and experiences. The group will discuss scientific challenges in the field of biopharmaceutical development and regulation with a focus on Europe.
The Virtual Europe Discussion Group goals include:
- Share learning across industry, academia, and health authorities across Europe, with a focus on speakers from across the region.
- Generate new scientific and technical insights and solutions for developing biopharmaceutical products in the future.
- Contribute to the expansion of CASSS’ mission, vision, influence, and community in Europe.
Click on the sections below for detailed information:
Critical Materials in Analytical Procedures | 13 November 2025 16:00 CEST | Virtual
Join peers across Europe for a virtual discussion on "From Vulnerability to Resilience: Industry Strategies for Dealing with Critical Materials in Analytical Procedures". The session will feature expert panelists in the field, followed by an open discussion and Q&A. Come prepared to share questions and insights as we explore practical applications and emerging challenges together.
The Virtual Europe Discussion Group provides opportunities for the broader community of industry, academic, and regulatory professionals to meet and share ideas and experiences. Registration for virtual attendance will close 10 November.
Attendance and Substitution Policy
CASSS reserves the right to withdraw, replace, add, or substitute presenters, speakers, and other guests without notice. Entry into the conference is at the sole discretion of CASSS and CASSS reserves the right to refuse entry to anyone for any reason.
Critical Materials in Analytical Procedures | 13 November 2025 16:00 CEST | Virtual
The pharmaceutical industry faces a variety of challenges that impact long-term robustness of analytical procedures used for quality control purposes. Challenges include supply chain fragility, quality variation of critical reagents or materials, or simply unexpected 'ghost peaks'. This discussion group explores strategic responses to such vulnerabilities, focusing on the transition from reactive troubleshooting to proactive resilience-building which starts already in the development labs. Using the recent Pharmalyte™️shortage as a case study, we examine how scientific understanding of the analytical methodology and collaborative efforts can catalyze industry-wide knowledge sharing and innovation. It is not sufficient to develop an analytical procedure that fulfills the 'analytical target profile' and that passes all validation criteria. The forward-looking method developer considers contingency planning, supplier diversification, and method adaptability to enhance analytical resilience during routine use of the method. We will discuss how structured troubleshooting can lead to methodological advancement and regulatory alignment.
Timothy Blanc
Eli Lilly and Company
Tim Blanc is Director of Technical Services / Manufacturing Sciences in the Global mAb Network at Eli Lilly & Co., with over 35 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. He is a recognized CMC subject matter expert in analytical control strategy, protein characterization, and comparability studies supporting process development, regulatory submissions, and lifecycle management. Blanc has been a contributing author and reviewer on multiple BLAs and INDs and has served as SME for pre-approval inspections and regulatory interactions.
He has broad expertise across analytical sciences, including method development, risk assessment, critical quality attributes, reference standards, stability programs, and data trending. Earlier in his career, Blanc was a Principal Scientist at Johnson & Johnson, where he helped advance immuno-affinity CE as a biomarker platform and contributed to understanding the role of protein microheterogeneity in pharmacokinetics.
A long-standing leader in the CASSS community, Blanc has served on the CE Pharm organizing committee since 2010 and was co-chair from 2014–2016.
Ewoud van Tricht
Kantisto BV
Ewoud van Tricht has over 18 years of experience in the (bio)pharmaceutical industry. He has worked on small molecules, antibodies, proteins, viruses, and cell therapies at companies such as Abbott Healthcare Products, Janssen Vaccines, and Sanofi Cell Therapy. Alongside his full-time career, he completed a Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD in analytical chemistry. van Tricht specialises in Analytical Quality by Design (AQbD), having developed and implemented strategies to enhance pharmaceutical methods. He is passionate about optimising processes, coaching teams, and driving innovation through AQbD, Agile, and Lean methodologies, always striving for efficient and impactful results.
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Register Now
Save your spot for the Virtual Europe Discussion Group on 13 November 2025. Registration for virtual attendance will close 10 November 2025.
