Pharma companies are spending billions on AI and automation, yet most projects remain trapped in "pilot purgatory". Why is digital transformation so difficult to scale on the manufacturing floor?

In this episode of Game of Pharma, host Lokesh Sharma sits down with Jonathon Thompson, Global Director of the Digital Center of Excellence at CAI. Drawing from a 25-year career arc,starting as a bench chemist on Eli Lilly's insulin line in 1999 to leading global automation strategies at Baxter, Avivia, and CAI—Jonathon reveals what it actually takes to move beyond AI hype into scalable operational value.

Key Topics Covered:

• From Bench Chemist to IT Leader: The LIMS & EBR Transition

• Why Pharma Under-Invests in Manufacturing AI vs. R&D

• Root Causes of "Pilot Purgatory" & How to Break Free

• Boardroom Expectations vs. Plant-Floor Operational Reality

• Big Pharma Tech Debt vs. Agile Biotech Startups

• The Hidden AI Opportunity in Tech Transfer & Scale-Up

• Micro-AI Solutions vs. Big-Bang Software Implementations

• Build, Buy, or Partner? Navigating AI Vendor Selection

• AI Founder vs. Pharma Founder Startup Models

Connect with Guest & Host:

Jonathon Thompson (CAI)

/ jonathon-thompson-1052906

Lokesh Sharma (Game of Pharma)

/ lokesh-sharma-7250a71a9

10,000 amputations happen every single day in India due to chronic wounds like diabetic foot ulcers, a silent epidemic hiding in plain sight.

In this episode of Game of Pharma, host Lokesh Sharma sits down with Tarun Bansal, Co-founder of MedVital and former key leader at Pristyn Care and EY, to unpack how advanced medical devices can solve India's massive healthcare white spaces.

While India has proven its dominance in global pharma, the medical device sector remains drastically underpenetrated. Tarun breaks down how MedVital is disrupting wound care through accessible Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT), chitosan-based liquid bandages made from seafood waste, and sheep tissue-derived extracellular matrices to drive complete skin restoration.

Discover why medical devices are poised to follow pharma's high-growth trajectory, the realities of scaling a B2B MedTech startup, and how to change doctor adoption behavior on the ground.

Subscribe to Game of Pharma for more deep-dive conversations with global healthcare and pharmaceutical leaders!

Subscribe for Elite Business & Pharma Insights: / @gameofpharma-podcast

Connect with Tarun Bansal on LinkedIn: / tarun-bansal-6a61b3a

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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4EDgDoe...

Website: https://gameofpharma.com/

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CONNECT WITH HOST - LOKESH SHARMA

LinkedIn: / lokesh-sharma-7250a71a9

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Why are commercial insurance systems structurally built to reject permanent medical cures? In this episode of Game of Pharma, host Lokesh Sharma sits down with Dr. Elizabeth Aden, Ex-SVP of Global Pharma Strategy at Roche and Advisor at SPARK at Stanford to unpack the hidden economic machinery behind drug development, portfolio allocation, and commercial launch strategy.

From the financial trap of chasing 3% of a mega-market to why US payers prefer funding annual chronic maintenance over one-time $80,000 cures, this conversation exposes the boardroom calculus that dictates global healthcare.

WHAT WE COVER IN THIS EPISODE:

• Commercial Profits vs. Community Cures: Why fragmented payer models penalize curative single-dose therapies.

• The 80/3 Portfolio Equation: Why owning 80% of a targeted niche yields superior bottom-line returns over chasing a volatile 3% of a broad disease market.

• The Drug Repurposing Opportunity: Why companies spend billions developing new molecules from scratch while golden assets gather dust in corporate archives.

• Promotional Overhead & Marketing Friction: How sales and marketing expenses quietly devour blockbuster drug profitability.

• Stanford SPARK Insights: Translating academic discoveries into commercially viable startups.

CONNECT WITH DR. ELIZABETH ADEN

LinkedIn: / elizabeth-reed-aden

EXPLORE THE FICTION SIDE OF PHARMA STRATEGY:

Interested in how personalized medicine, genetic profiling, and prescription dosing collide in a high-stakes medical thriller? Check out Dr. Elizabeth Aden’s bestseller The Goldilocks Genome.

Get it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.in/Goldilocks-Geno...

CONNECT WITH HOST - LOKESH SHARMA

LinkedIn: / lokesh-sharma-7250a71a9

FOLLOW GAME OF PHARMA:

LinkedIn: / game-of-pharma-podcast

Instagram: / gameofpharma

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Dr. Elizabeth Aden is a veteran pharmaceutical executive, board member, and author. She previously served as Senior Vice President & International Director of Global Pharma Strategy at Roche, where she managed global portfolio research across six international sites. She is currently an Advisor at SPARK at Stanford, a board member at JVS Medical, and has led multiple biotech companies dedicated to recovering shelved pharmaceutical assets.

ABOUT GAME OF PHARMA:

Game of Pharma is one of the bes podcast for life science professionals, corporate strategists, student researchers, and biotech entrepreneurs exploring the intersection of medicine, market access, and commercial strategy.