New industry collaboration addresses pharma's most complex development challenges and expedites patient access to breakthrough therapies
MILWAUKEE, Oct. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), the world's largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation, today announced it is a founding member of the Digital CMC Consortium, a not-for-profit, pre-competitive industry collaboration focused on advancing digital standards and infrastructure to accelerate drug development.
Pharmaceutical companies face growing pressure to accelerate development timelines and manage rising costs while meeting complex regulatory requirements. Yet Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) activities, which define how a drug is developed, manufactured, tested and controlled to ensure quality, remain a longstanding bottleneck in drug development due to manual, document-based workflows and a lack of process standardization. As therapies become more complex and personalized, CMC activities must evolve into structured, digital systems that accelerate technology transfer and enable seamless knowledge sharing and data-driven decision-making.
The Consortium brings together industry leaders across the CMC ecosystem — pharmaceutical organizations, biotechnology firms, contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs), technology providers and consulting experts — to address these shared challenges through a coordinated, outcomes-focused approach. Founded by visionary leaders from companies such as Rockwell Automation, Novartis, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Takeda, Flagship's Pioneering Medicines, Stellix, ZS Associates and QbDVision, the Consortium harnesses collective expertise to solve industry-wide challenges no organization could tackle independently.
"Digital transformation in life sciences is not just about technology adoption, it is about building new ways of working that improve how therapies are developed and delivered," said Matt Weaver, vice president, global industry – life sciences, Rockwell Automation. "The Consortium reflects the partnership-driven approach needed to advance the pharma industry. With deep life sciences expertise and experience supporting both pharma innovators and the CDMOs, we are proud to work alongside fellow founding members to help shape the future of pharmaceutical manufacturing and CMC digitization, connecting development, manufacturing and commercialization across product lifecycle."
Following its first year of collaboration and proof-of-concept work, the Consortium is advancing toward broader industry adoption. Its immediate focus includes digital technology transfer and structured knowledge exchange between sponsors and CDMOs. Longer term, the Consortium aims to connect digital capabilities across the full CMC lifecycle, including knowledge management, automated content authoring, digital twins and artificial intelligence.
To learn more about the Digital CMC Consortium and how to get involved, visit www.digitalcmc.org.
About Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), is a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation. We connect the imaginations of people with the potential of technology to expand what is humanly possible, making the world more productive and more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 26,000 problem solvers dedicated to our customers in more than 100 countries as of fiscal year end 2025. To learn more about how we are bringing the Connected Enterprise® to life across industrial enterprises, visit www.rockwellautomation.com.
About the Digital CMC Consortium
The Digital CMC Consortium is a pre-competitive not-for-profit industry collaboration organized around a singular goal: the end-to-end digitalization of Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC). The Consortium unites pharmaceutical organizations, CDMOs, consulting firms, and technology innovators to establish open digital standards across drug development and manufacturing, laying the foundation for the AI era in CMC. Upgrading this legacy infrastructure removes a major bottleneck, accelerating the delivery of life-saving therapies to the patients who need them urgently. Learn more at https://www.digitalcmc.org.
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Rockwell Automation and Industry Leaders Launch the Digital CMC Consortium to Accelerate Digital Transformation in Pharmaceutical Development
