The Continuous Journey: From Base Camp to Summit – and Beyond
An ECI Conference Series
September 12 – 16, 2027
Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
2025 Final Program and Posters
About the Conference
We are delighted to announce that the 8th International Conference on Integrated Continuous Biomanufacturing (ICB VIII) will be held in the stunning Canadian Pacific Northwest nestled into the Coast Mountains of Whistler, British Columbia. The conference will take place at The Westin Resort & Spa, Whistler from September 12 – 16, 2027.
The theme for ICB VIII, “The Continuous Journey: From Base Camp to Summit – and Beyond,” reflects both the trajectory of the field and the shared journey required to realize fully integrated, end-to-end continuous processes. Much like a mountaineering expedition, progress depends on strong foundations, careful scaling, and the ability to operate reliably under increasing complexity.
The program will explore themes related to mountaineering:
- Base Camp –innovation to establish foundational continuous process technologies and platform strategies
- Acclimatization – integration, scale-up, and adaptation across modalities
- The Summit – enabling fully continuous, end-to-end GMP biomanufacturing through drug product
- Safe Descent – ensuring robustness, control, and sustained GMP commercial operation
- Leave No Trace – enabling higher yields and increase sustainability
ICB VIII will bring together leaders from academia, industry, and regulatory agencies to share insights, exchange ideas, and build the partnerships needed to advance continuous biomanufacturing from promise to practice. The program will showcase advances across modalities, highlight emerging technologies, and explore strategies for implementation at commercial scale. Equally important, the conference will foster collaboration across disciplines, recognizing that meaningful progress requires integration across Process Development, Analytical Technologies, Manufacturing, Digital Systems, and Quality and Regulatory Frameworks.
Set within the Pacific Northwest, ICB VIII highlights a region defined by its natural beauty and spirit of exploration—where mountains rise from coastal waters and the Sea-to-Sky landscape reflects a constant pursuit of elevation and progress. This environment serves as both inspiration and metaphor for the field, as continuous biomanufacturing strives to reach new heights in performance, efficiency, and reliability.
The region is also home to global innovators whose legacy of engineering excellence and operational rigor closely aligns with transformation in the biopharmaceutical industry and its focus on quality and compliance. We also honor the region's Indigenous peoples’ stewardship of land and water, whose sustainability principles resonate with responsible bioprocessing.
Beyond the sessions, we encourage you to experience the outdoors, connect with colleagues, and draw inspiration from the remarkable environment around you. We look forward to welcoming you to an unforgettable conference—where innovation meets elevation, and together, we continue the journey.
Eva Gefroh
Thomas Villiger
Mark Brower
Conference Organization
Conference Co-Chairs
- Eva Gefroh, Just-Evotec Biologics, Inc. (USA)
- Thomas Villiger, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland
- Mark Brower, Merck & Co., Inc. (USA)
Steering Committee
- Ana M. Azevedo, Instituto Superior Técnico (Portugal)
- Kevin Brower, Sanofi (USA)
- Jonathan Coffman, AstraZeneca (USA)
- Charles L. Cooney, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA)
- Rohini R. Deshpande, Amgen, Inc (USA)
- Suzanne S. Farid, University College London (UK)
- Chetan T. Goudar, Amgen, Inc (USA)
- Alois Jungbauer, BOKU (Austria)
- Konstantin B. Konstantinov, Ring Therapeutics (USA)
- Aaron Noyes, Apogee Therapeutics (USA)
- Irina Ramos, Johnson & Johnson (USA)
- Gene Schaefer, NIIMBL (USA)
- Jason Walther, Sanofi (USA)
- Veena Warikoo, AstraZeneca (USA)
Previous Conferences in This Series
Integrated Continuous Biomanufacturing
October 20 - 24, 2013
Castelldefels, Spain
Conference Chairs:
Konstantin Konstantinov, Genzyme-Sanofi, USA
Chetan Goudar, Amgen, USA
Nigel Titchener-Hooker, University College London, UK
Integrated Continuous Biomanufacturing II
November 1 - 5, 2015
Berkeley, California, USA
Conference Chairs:
Chetan Goudar, Amgen, USA
Suzanne Farid, University College London, UK
Christopher Hwang, Genzyme-Sanofi, USA
Karol Lacki, Novo Nordisk, Denmark
Integrated Continuous Biomanufacturing III
September 17-21, 2017
Cascais, Portugal
Conference Chairs:
Suzanne Farid, University College London, UK
Chetan Goudar, Amgen, USA
Paula Alves, IBET, Portugal
Veena Warikoo, Axcella Health, Inc., USA
Integrated Continuous Biomanufacturing IV
October 6 – 10, 2019
Brewster (Cape Cod), Massachusetts
Conference Chairs:
Veena Warikoo, Roche, USA
Alois Jungbauer, BOKU, Austria
Jon Coffman, AstraZeneca, USA
Jason Walther, Sanofi, USA
Integrated Continuous Biomanufacturing V
October 9-13, 2022
Sitges, Spain
Conference Chairs:
Ana Azevedo, Técnico Lisboa, Portugal
Jason Walther, Sanofi, USA
Rohini Deshpande, Amgen, USA
Integrated Continuous Biomanufacturing VI
October 20-24, 2024
Leesburg, Virginia
Conference Chairs:
Ana Azevedo, Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal
Kevin Brower, Sanofi, USA
Aaron Noyes, Apogee Therapeutics, USA
Integrated Continuous Biomanufacturing VII
October 5-9, 2025
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Conference Chairs:
Kevin Brower, Sanofi (USA)
Mark Brower, Merck (USA)
Alois Jungbauer, BOKU (Austria)
Irina Ramos, Johnson & Johnson (USA)
General Information about ECI
Engineering Conferences International (ECI) is a not-for-profit, global engineering conferences program, originally established in 1962 that provides opportunities for the exploration of problems and issues of concern to engineers and scientists from many disciplines.
The format of the conference provides morning and late afternoon or evening sessions in which major presentations are made. Poster sessions will be scheduled for evening discussion as well. Available time is included during the afternoons for ad hoc meetings, informal discussions, and/or recreation. This format is designed to enhance rapport among participants and promote dialogue on the development of the meeting. We believe the conferences have been instrumental in generating ideas and disseminating information to a greater extent than is possible through more conventional forums.
All participants are expected both to attend the entire conference and to contribute actively to the discussions. The recording/photographing of lectures and presentations is forbidden. As ECI conferences take place in an informal atmosphere, casual clothing is the usual attire.
Smoking is prohibited at ECI conferences and conference functions.