By 2028, SGS CDMO Solutions’ MHRA and FDA-inspected site in Wales will operate entirely without paper. For biotech and Pharmaceutical sponsors, this provides a better way to run development and manufacturing projects.
“If it can’t be done digitally, then we don’t want to do it,” says Paul Broomhead, Head of Site. The result is a digitally native CDMO where data, processes, and decisions live in one.
SGS CDMO Solutions is a Platinum Sponsor of CDMO Live Europe 2026.
Paul Broomhead, Head of Site at SGS CDMO Solutions in Wales, is leading an ambitious digital transformation. In this exclusive interview, Paul reveals why SGS is making a commitment to digital infrastructure, how the transformation creates competitive advantages for biotech sponsors, and what “digitally native” manufacturing actually means in practice for pharmaceutical development and commercialization.
The Digital-First Mandate
SGS’s digital transformation is designed around customer impact, not software for software’s sake.
“We’re not looking at paper at all. We’re aiming to have no paper on site,” Paul states definitively. “So if it can’t be done digitally, then we don’t want to do it. When people come into the business, they will enter into a pure digital world.”
This operational mandate is driving millions in technology investments across the Wales facility’s oral liquid manufacturing, granulation, tableting, capsule filling, and packaging operations.
For Paul and the SGS team, their “digitally native” goal represents an operational philosophy rather than a collection of software implementations. The transformation encompasses interconnected layers:
End-to-End Data Visibility: From initial formulation inquiry through commercial manufacturing, every step of a project is captured in integrated systems. Sponsors can access real-time data, full traceability, and complete project history without waiting for reports or scheduled updates.
Fewer Errors, Lower Risk: Barcode scanning, automated data capture, and system-to-system transfers eliminate manual transcription and reduce human error inherent in paper-based systems.
Smart Manufacturing, Expanded Capabilities: Digital infrastructure also enables new manufacturing possibilities. SGS is implementing connected equipment and digital twin technology, allowing operators to run high-containment and high-potency processes remotely.
“By the end of 2028, we are hoping that we will have the full genealogy from the very start of a project,” Paul explains. “So on day one of someone asking us to do formulation and development all the way through to commercial manufacturing, we’ve got the full genealogy of that in one space, and that’s accessible to a customer as well.”
This represents Industry 4.0 implementation – the integration of cyber-physical systems, Internet of Things, and cloud computing into pharmaceutical manufacturing operations.
24/7 Project Transparency
The digital transformation delivers immediate, tangible benefits to biotech and pharmaceutical sponsors through fundamentally changed information access and project visibility.
Traditional CDMO project management creates information bottlenecks where sponsors depend entirely on scheduled updates and reports from their designated project manager.
“The traditional way of managing projects is using Microsoft Project or large paper Gantt charts, and the project manager was the one who had the privilege of seeing everything from end to end and only sharing the snippets that they needed to share,” Paul explains.
SGS has eliminated this bottleneck through cloud-based project management platforms accessible to all stakeholders. “We moved to a cloud-based project management software where we were able to give all stakeholders access to it. All stakeholders across the business can see all of that project management, all of the Gantt chart, task list, or whatever they need.”
Geography no longer constrains project oversight. “If we’re dealing with people in the Far East, then they’re accessing our activity a lot earlier in the morning than we are. And similarly in West Coast America, they can look at stuff after our business is shut for the day.”
Digital Twin Technology for High Containment
One of the most innovative applications involves digital twin technology for high-potency and containment operations, allowing operators to control manufacturing processes remotely from outside containment areas.
“We want to introduce smarter operations, automations, and maybe some cobot technology so we can operate in an inert atmosphere without putting people at risk,” Paul notes. “That will allow us to do various products that require high containment.”
The digital twin concept creates virtual representations of physical manufacturing processes. “We can create an environment where we can have a digital twin so someone’s outside of the room operating the machinery that’s inside of the room in that nitrogen atmosphere.”
This approach expands the range of products SGS can manufacture while protecting personnel from exposure to highly potent compounds or inert atmospheres.
One Partner Across the Entire Value Chain
While digital transformation provides the operational foundation, SGS’s competitive position derives from integrating CDMO capabilities within a global organization offering comprehensive pharmaceutical services.
SGS operates with 100,000 employees across 115 countries, primarily focused on testing, inspection, and verification services. The pharmaceutical division employs 10,000 people across 23 countries with comprehensive laboratory support and a CRO operation in Belgium.
According to Paul, the integrated approach delivers advantages for biotech companies developing new chemical entities through commercialization.
“A biotech can be comfortable in coming to SGS and think, well, I can have my product fully developed, all formulation done. I can put it through a clinical trial. I can have all my regulatory submissions supported by SGS. I don’t need any CMC consultancy because it’s already there,” Paul notes.
The global network operates with localized service delivery despite its scale. “As a global organization, we’re very good at giving the customer the impression that it’s a single-site organization. So, irrespective, we might use multiple sites to do stuff, then it’s all trafficked and channeled through a single portal or a single site.”
This seamless integration across services would be impossible without the digital infrastructure connecting discrete capabilities into unified project management systems.
Sustainability Investments
The facility’s sustainability initiatives complement digital transformation by creating energy independence and operational resilience that support high-availability digital systems.
30% Energy Reduction Through Solar Infrastructure
Environmental performance has moved up the sponsor selection criteria, driving SGS to implement measurable sustainability initiatives.
“We’ve noticed now on a couple of tenders, especially sponsors that are very conscious of the environment, those questions are moving further up the list for the criteria when requesting information,” Paul observes.
The Wales facility has achieved significant energy independence through solar infrastructure. “Two years ago, we covered our roof in solar panels, and that’s generated 30% of our energy. We got rid of our gas boilers, so we don’t have any consumption of fossil fuel on site at all.”
Future projects will expand renewable generation with additional solar panels on new buildings, car park canopies, and potentially small wind turbines.
Water Reclamation and 95% Waste Diversion
SGS is implementing comprehensive water management, leveraging North Wales’ natural rainfall whilst capturing purified water that would otherwise be discarded.
“We’ve got a purified water system that we discharge pure, unused purified water every day,” Paul notes. “We’re looking to reclaim that so we can bring that into the building to use for toilet flushing and various other things.”
Waste segregation drives both environmental and cost benefits. “We have an ambition to get 95% of all our waste either reused or recycled. We segregate everything down to food level, plastics, and cardboard. Because we segregate all of the waste, the waste carrier reduces the cost for them to take it away because they can deliver it straight to the recycling or reuse center.”
Supply Chain Resilience in Uncertain Times
Geopolitical instability requires sophisticated supply chain risk mitigation.
“It’s an unstable world, isn’t it?” Paul acknowledges. “We have been hit with some instability in the supply chain as well. But with SGS being quite a large organization, they’re very mature in dealing with the supply chain.”
SGS implements structured dual sourcing approaches for critical materials, maintaining fully qualified backup suppliers ready to activate when disruptions occur.
“Locally at this site, we try to build in supply chain resilience. We’ll have a primary supplier, but we’ll also pick a secondary supplier, have that secondary supplier fully qualified for all our GMP materials,” Paul explains.
When dual sourcing proves impractical for specialized materials, strategic inventory provides the risk mitigation buffer. “Where there isn’t that luxury to have maybe a secondary supplier, then we might over-purchase in the first instance just to ensure the continuity of the project and that we’ve got product on site here.”
Supply chain evaluation forms a mandatory component of every new project initiation. “When we do take on a new project, our supply chain evaluation is critical to the success of that project.”
What Biotech CEOs Should Actually Evaluate in CDMOs
For biotech executives evaluating CDMO partnerships, Paul emphasizes looking beyond scientific capability to assess financial stability, regulatory maturity, and operational transparency – factors that digital infrastructure makes easier to demonstrate and verify.
Look Beyond Claims
“What they should look for in doing due diligence: has that CDMO got demonstrable capability rather than just saying that they have?” Paul advises. “Is there good evidence that they have done projects that are similar in the past?”
Comprehensive regulatory support should be integrated rather than requiring external CMC consultancy. “Do they have the regulatory support? Could I put a project with this CDMO without actually onboarding a CMC consultant? If that’s a confident yes, then I would say that the CDMO is probably worth its salt.”
Financial Transparency
Paul identifies a critical evaluation criterion that many biotechs overlook until experiencing problems: CDMO financial stability and business resilience.
“If a CDMO is prepared to share their financial status, what their growth has been for the last couple of years, whether that’s been positive or negative, and what the growth projections are for the next couple of years, that can breed confidence that they’re not going to be subject to any poor market conditions,” Paul explains.
This consideration proves particularly important for larger, longer-term projects. “We certainly get asked, how confident are we that the business will be opening in three years’ time if someone’s putting a larger project with us? From our point of view, with SGS’s backing, we can very confidently say that.”
The warning comes from direct client feedback. “We have a number of clients that do say to us, we wish we’d asked that question of other people a couple of times.”
Beyond Scientific Capability
Paul’s final advice emphasizes comprehensive evaluation beyond technical competence.
“Don’t focus only on the scientific capability, that’s a prerequisite, that’s a must-have,” he explains. “But have a look around that as well to see whether the regulatory knowledge is there, the specific science knowledge is there around the market, such as pediatrics, whether the business is sound financially, and whether there is extra capability around the business so they will not require CMC consultancy.”
