Ilmac 2026
Platform for Chemistry, Pharmacy and Biotechnology
September 23–24, 2026, Beaulieu Lausanne, www.ilmac.ch
Every two years, the Ilmac industry event at the important Lausanne site is the largest meeting place for the chemical and life science industry in French-speaking Switzerland.
Ilmac has its origins in the Swiss trade fair for international laboratory, measurement technology and automation in chemistry, which has been taking place since 1959. Today, the chemical and life science brand connects the industry both physically and digitally.
The SCS, as the initial founder of the fair, is partnering with Messe Schweiz and organizes the Ilmac Conference.
Registration for Participants
Register for free as participant with the SCS Promocode: scs-ilmac26.
Link to the Ticket Shop
Wednesday, 23 September 2026
09.00 – 17.00h
Thurday, 24 September 2026
09.00 – 17.00h
Ilmac Website: www.ilmac.ch
Ilmac Conference 2026
The symposia are intended for participants from academia, expert laboratories and industry, and offers an attractive platform to interact with experts and other community members, but also with providers of respective instruments and laboratory infrastructure as part of the Ilmac exhibition.
Day 1: «New approaches and IA in Process Analytical Technology (PAT)»
Process Analytical Technology (PAT), initially proposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2004, has since evolved into a broad strategic framework for quality assurance. By enabling real-time analysis and control of critical quality and performance attributes, it is now widely applied not only in the pharmaceutical industry but also in chemistry and biotechnology, ensuring optimal process performance and consistent product quality.
The symposium, organized jointly with Swiss Process and Chemical Engineers (SGVC), will showcase the latest developments in the PAT field, its link to AI and the concrete implementation in production processes.
Program
10.00 Welcome and symposium opening
Prof. Michal Dabros, HEIA Fribourg and SGVC
Morning Session
Chair: David Spichiger, Swiss Chemical Society
10.05 Keynote: Prof. Brian Freeland, Dublin City University, Ireland
«Embedding PAT in Bioprocesses: How Hardware Enables AI/ML, Advanced Automation and Process Intensification»
10.50 Dr. Winfried Geis, Sartorius Stedim Biotech GmbH
«PAT as an Enabling Tool for Process Intensification in Upstream Bioprocessing»
11.15 Dr. Tim Forster, R&D Data Scientist
«How modeling and optimization can be applied in the field of PAT»
11.40 Selim Agrebi, Lonza
«Deploying PAT Across a CDMO: From Feasibility to Routine cGMP Release»
12.05 Q&A Session
12.15 Lunch break
Afternoon Session
Chair: Prof. Michal Dabros, HEIA Fribourg and SGVC
13.30 Keynote: Dr. Thomas Vent-Schmidt, Syngenta
«From Science to Value - How to establish a PAT strategy in an organization?»
14.15 Dr. Sven Kreisig, dsm-firmenich
«From the lab to the plant. Process analytics at dsm-firmenich»
14.40 Dr. Samd Guizani, Free-Lance Consultant
«Navigating a Regulatory Framework in Transition»
15.05 Panel Discussion, Moderated by Prof. Michal Dabros
From PAT to AI-Driven Manufacturing: The Future of on-line Process Analytics
15.50 Conclusion, end of the symposium
16.00 Aperitif
Partners of the Ilmac Conference
Organizing Committee of the Ilmac Conference and the Society Activities
- Prof. Michal Dabros, HEIA Fribourg and SGVC
- Magali Bischof, BioAlps Association
- Dr. François Capel, Innovaud
- Dr. Aditya Yellepeddi, Swiss Biotech Association
- Céline Futterknecht, Messe Schweiz/Ilmac
- David Spichiger, Swiss Chemical Society
- Céline Wittwer, Swiss Chemical Society