3 Sessions We Recommend at Pharma MES Europe 2026

Pharma MES Europe 2026, also known as Pharma MES Berlin, is one of the events we look forward to each year. The agenda brings together many of the topics shaping MES and pharmaceutical manufacturing, but some of the most valuable insights come from the conversations around it, practitioners comparing notes on what’s working, what isn’t, and where manufacturing execution is heading next.

We went through the Pharma MES Europe 2026 agenda at the Maritim proArte Hotel in Berlin and picked three sessions worth adding to your schedule, particularly if you’re a pharmaceutical or life sciences manufacturer working through how to scale regulated operations.

Planning your time in Berlin? View the full Pharma MES Europe 2026 agenda

Session 1: Less is More — IT/OT Integration with the Unified Namespace

Thursday, October 1 · 2:30–3:00 PM · Saal A
Giulia Lonzi & Nick Fenlon, NNIT

Point-to-point integrations between MES, SCADA, ERP, LIMS, and plant-floor systems can become harder to maintain as manufacturing networks grow.

This session looks at the Unified Namespace as a different approach: creating a shared data architecture that makes operational information easier to exchange across systems while reducing the number of custom interfaces teams need to manage.

The brownfield focus makes the discussion especially relevant. Manufacturers are rarely designing an entire technology architecture from scratch. More often, they are connecting new systems, equipment, and capabilities to an existing manufacturing environment.

Why we recommend it: Integration architecture can become a scaling issue long before it becomes an obvious one. If you expect to add sites, lines, equipment, or applications, it’s worth thinking about how that complexity will be managed before it compounds.

Session 2: AI-Powered MES — To Be or Not to Be?

Thursday, October 1 · 6:15–7:00 PM · Saal A
Panel discussion

AI is becoming part of nearly every manufacturing technology conversation. In regulated manufacturing, however, the harder question is what happens when AI touches GxP-relevant processes, data, or validated systems.

This panel looks at where AI is being applied within MES today, where the constraints remain, and what manufacturers need to consider around validation, data integrity, auditability, governance, and evolving regulatory expectations.

It also raises a longer-term question: what would more autonomous or agentic AI require before it could be deployed responsibly in a regulated pharmaceutical manufacturing environment?

Why we recommend it: The important question is no longer whether AI has potential. It’s where AI can create meaningful value within MES without compromising control, compliance, or trust in the manufacturing record.

Session 3: World Café Harvesting Session

Friday, October 2 · 3:30–4:00 PM · Saal A
Closing workshop

The World Café Harvesting Session brings together key findings from two days of discussion at Pharma MES Europe 2026.

Workshop moderators summarize the themes that emerged across the World Café sessions, with practitioners from Novo Nordisk, ElevateBio, Roche, Bayer, QIAGEN, and Bachem represented across the discussions. Together, those perspectives span biologics, cell and gene therapy, diagnostics, and large-scale pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Why we recommend it: Instead of the perspective of a single company or case study, this session offers a broader view of the challenges, priorities, and ideas practitioners have been discussing throughout the event.

Meet the POMS Team at Pharma MES Berlin 2026

We’re heading to Pharma MES Berlin to connect with pharmaceutical and life sciences manufacturers, partners, and peers working through many of the same questions: how to simplify integration, scale MES across changing operations, and introduce new capabilities without losing the control regulated manufacturing requires.

  • Find us onsite at the Maritim proArte Hotel
  • Book time with us beforehand at info@poms.com
  • Or just grab us at one of the sessions. We’ll be there, listening and learning right alongside you.