DCAT Week 2026: The Domestic Imperative for Manufacturing
According to Carrie Bracco from Novartis Contract Manufacturing, by leveraging large-scale infrastructure, embedded CMOs can help meet rising demand for localized manufacturing.
“Everyone knows that the CMO landscape is very complex and that there are a lot of nuances involved,” remarks Carrie Bracco, Head of Business Development, US, Novartis Contract Manufacturing. For service providers that are embedded within larger pharma companies, such as Novartis Contract Manufacturing, these nuances are intensified, she adds.
Being embedded within a much larger company can lead to sponsors having a misconception that the CMO will be difficult to work with or won’t be agile enough for a project, Bracco specifies. However, the reality can be very different, she notes, pointing out that Novartis Contract Manufacturing is similar to small entrepreneurial groups but with the support of a much larger organization around it.
Focusing on the current trend of investing into domestic U.S. manufacturing, Bracco states, “I think it’s obvious with all the geopolitical things that are happening, having a focus on U.S. manufacturing sites is strategically important, and there are a lot of people doing that at the moment.” Novartis is investing in this area as well, she continues explaining that more details on these plans should be available soon and will be part of the discussions during DCAT Week.
At the conference, Bracco is excited to make connections with those that she already knows and also some new people from the industry. “Nowadays, we’re very limited with face-to-face meetings, and it’s so important to have that connection,” she says.
Click the video above to view the full interview
About the Speaker
Carrie Bracco currently heads up the U.S. Business Development Team for Novartis Contract Manufacturing. She is a seasoned business leader with more than 20 years’ experience spanning across various commercial roles covering contract manufacturing, bioprocessing, drug packaging and delivery devices.
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