On-Demand: Adapting CDMO Capabilities to Support the Development and Commercialization of Orphan Drugs and Novel Therapies

Shawn E. Conway, Ph.D.

Director of Engineering R&D, CHP

Shawn has over 20 years of experience in the specialty chemicals, fine chemicals and pharmaceutical industries. After initially working with Westvaco as a Research Engineer focusing on the development of novel packaging technologies, he moved to WR Grace. During his time with WR Grace, he held a number of technical and operations roles. As a Development Engineer, he was responsible for executing process development and subsequent scale-up and commercialization for a wide portfolio of products including novel alumina-based coatings, and colloidal silica for the semiconductor industry. He was also responsible for leading the company’s Innovation Center supporting multiple business units in assessing and implementing new technologies on the pilot scale. He also led the Albany, Oregon site (formerly Synthetech) for 1 year as the Process Technology Manager and 5 years as the Plant Manager. In these roles, he was responsible for all departments and business functions at the site, overseeing a growth from 60 to 100 employees and a corresponding growth in revenue. While at the Albany site, multiple site expansions were conducted to improve technology and capabilities, supporting the pharmaceutical industry. In 2017, he joined Cambrex to launch the Engineering R&D team, focusing on providing process engineering support during scale-up as well as designing and implementing continuous flow technology for API production. In approximately 5.5 years, the group has developed and implemented