ISPE names 2026 Facility of the Year winners across global pharma projects
The International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE), a professional organization focused on pharmaceutical manufacturing and engineering, announced the 2026 Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA) category winners during its annual conference in Europe.
The FOYA program recognizes pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturing projects for advances in operations, innovation, supply chain, digitalization and social impact, the organization said. This year’s winners span multiple regions and reflect increased use of modular facility design, automation and integrated quality and supply strategies in regulated manufacturing environments.
In the Innovation – Novel Technology category, Hepalink Pharmaceutical Group’s Shenzhen pre-filled syringe facility in China incorporates a 5G-enabled manufacturing ecosystem, automated material handling and AI-based inspection to support high-viscosity drug production, the company said. The site has an annual capacity of 330 million units and integrates digital twin capabilities to transfer production data across facilities.
Sanofi S.A. received the Innovation – Facility of the Future award for its Modulus facilities in France and Singapore, which use a modular “ballroom” design with standardized docking stations to enable multi-product manufacturing. According to ISPE, the facilities support rapid changeovers across modalities, including mRNA and biologics, and use digital twin systems and automation to enable flexible production and real-time monitoring.
Bayer AG’s SOLIDA-1 facility in Germany won two categories: Operations – Operational Excellence, and Pharma 4.0. The site integrates modular design, end-to-end automation and a digital manufacturing architecture. The facility reportedly enables autonomous material flow and connected data systems to improve equipment effectiveness and reduce manual intervention, while supporting scalable oral solid dose production.
Eli Lilly and Company’s Concord, North Carolina site was recognized for Operations – Project Execution, achieving U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval within 30 months of groundbreaking, said ISPE. The fully automated, paperless parenteral manufacturing campus used modular construction, digital twin testing and standardized design platforms to accelerate commissioning and startup timelines.
BSP Pharmaceuticals received the Supply Chain award for its integrated facility in Latina, Italy, which combines drug substance conjugation and drug product fill-finish under a single quality system. The site is said to eliminate inter-site transport and cold chain risks associated with antibody-drug conjugate manufacturing, improving supply reliability and speed to market.
In the Social Impact – Unmet Medical Needs category, AstraZeneca’s Rockville, Maryland, cell therapy facility was designed for continuous operations with no planned shutdowns to support patient-specific manufacturing. The site applies cross-industry risk methodologies to achieve high reliability while maintaining a fully electrified, low-emissions design, according to the company’s submission.
Takeda’s Vienna, Austria facility received the Social Impact – Sustainability Efforts award for its AHEAD project, which uses an industrial heat pump system powered by renewable electricity to generate high-pressure steam. The system reportedly reduces carbon emissions associated with pharmaceutical utilities while maintaining manufacturing performance requirements.
Honorable mentions were awarded to Chugai Pharma Manufacturing Co. for a multiproduct API facility in Japan and Fujifilm Biotechnologies for a large-scale biologics manufacturing campus in North Carolina, both of which apply modular design, automation and digitalization to support flexible production, ISPE said.
The FOYA category winners will be recognized again at the ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo in October in Washington, D.C., where an overall winner will be announced.