Caliber Technologies and IPA host  ‘Tomorrow-Ready Pharma: Embracing AI for Digital Transformation’  Leadership Summit in Mumbai 

Caliber, a leading provider of software solutions in Quality  Control, Quality Assurance, Manufacturing Automation and Data Analytics solutions for the  pharmaceutical industry, in partnership with the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA),  hosted the “Tomorrow-Ready Pharma: Embracing AI for Digital Transformation” Leadership Summit in Mumbai.

The summit brought together 60+ CXOs, global quality heads, IT and digital leaders from  top pharmaceutical organisations to discuss the future of AI in Pharma, intelligence-driven  quality systems, and the readiness of people and processes to adopt next-generation  technologies.

The summit opened with remarks from Dr. Rajiv Desai, Senior Technical Advisor – Quality  & Regulatory, IPA, who emphasised the need for deeper collaboration between  pharmaceutical manufacturers and technology partners to accelerate India’s Pharma 4.0  journey and AI adoption. Dr. Desai highlighted that the industry is now entering a phase where partnership with technology companies like Caliber is a must, as now the intelligent  quality systems, harmonised data, and digital capability-building are no longer optional but  essential for global competitiveness.

Following this, Sekhar Surabhi, CEO of Caliber and Chair of the ISPE Pharma 4.0 CoP  (India), delivered the keynote address. Drawing from Caliber’s 25-year journey of  strengthening pharmaceutical quality and enabling digital excellence, he spoke about the  industry’s responsibility to lead transformation proactively rather than respond to it  reactively.

Sekhar emphasised how AI adoption worldwide is redefining expectations around data  integrity, audit readiness, and leadership accountability in quality functions. He also  highlighted Caliber’s expanding global community, including the two customer chapters under “Caliber Commune” launched this year in New Jersey and Long Island. He highlighted  that these platforms are quickly becoming collaboration hubs with the user community to  exchange insights, align on challenges, and collectively move toward intelligence-driven  pharma operations.

Emphasising on the need to have clean data to get intelligent quality insights, AI-enabled  innovation, and modern quality culture, his keynote set a clear and confident direction on  what it truly means to be “tomorrow-ready” in Pharma 4.0.

A key highlight of the day was the panel discussion “Beyond Dashboards: How AI Driven  Alaytics and Quality Metrics are reshaping Pharma 4.0”, moderated by Dr. Rajiv Desai  (Senior Technical Advisor – Quality & Regulatory, IPA) with distinguished panellists Shirish  Ambulgekar (President & Global Quality Head, Alkem Laboratories Ltd.), Sanjay  Nandavadekar (Head IT & VP, Inventia Healthcare Ltd.), Dr. Shantanu Chobhe (President – Corporate QA, Akums Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd.) and Milind Gujar (Chief Quality  Officer – QA & QC, RPG Life Sciences Ltd.).

The conversations throughout the panel consistently emphasized that while advanced  platforms, analytics, and AI-enabled tools are becoming essential, true transformation  depends on organisational readiness, workforce capability, data discipline, cultural alignment,  and a modern quality mindset. Speakers highlighted that Indian pharma is entering a phase  where the success of digital transformation will be determined not only by what technologies  are deployed but by how effectively teams are prepared to use them.

The panelists discussed how companies are moving from dashboard-driven visibility to true  decision intelligence, stressing the need for harmonised data foundations, stronger  collaboration between IT and Quality, and structured capability-building programs.

The fireside conversation, “CIO Perspectives on Scaling Digital Transformation in  Pharma”, featured Ketan Patel, Vice President – CIO, Indoco Remedies Ltd. in  discussion with Pavan Pasupulati (Vice President – Manufacturing, Caliber). The session  addressed the realities of modernising legacy systems, building cross-functional ownership,  and integrating AI responsibly while maintaining regulatory confidence and audit-readiness.

Caliber also unveiled their AI powered key innovations reinforcing its commitment to  intelligence-driven quality. QUARI, the company’s unified quality data platform, was  presented by Dr. Kavita (Vice President – Data & Analytics, Caliber), who demonstrated  how the platform brings enterprise-wide quality data, real-time insights, and audit readiness  into a single harmonised layer. CalGenie, Caliber’s GenAI-enabled quality digital platform,  was showcased by Pavan Pasupulati, highlighting its role in accelerating investigations,  improving trend detection, and enabling proactive quality management.

Speaking at the summit, Sekhar Surabhi, CEO, Caliber, said, “As we celebrate 25 years,  the industry is entering an important phase. Technology can strengthen quality immensely,  but transformation requires readiness, people, processes, and a culture aligned to intelligence driven quality. The discussions today reflected an industry that is serious about building that  foundation.”

Representing the IPA, Dr. Rajiv Desai emphasised the importance of collaboration between  pharma and technology partners, stating, “Indian manufacturers are ready to embrace Pharma  4.0, and forums like this help align expectations, share best practices, and accelerate the  journey toward intelligent, modern quality systems.”