PAT Connect Conference 2026 A Network, an Appeal, and a Call to Action for PAT

The integration of Process Analytical Technology (PAT) into pharmaceutical manufacturing has faced major challenges for many years. In an interview with the organizing committee of the PAT Connect Conference 2026, PROCESS explores where exactly the obstacles lie and which potential solutions exist. One thing became clear: a successful trilogue between manufacturers, operators, and academia is essential to integrate PAT into processes, use it effectively, and fully leverage its benefits.

“PAT is like a beautiful, fast sports car; we have a large, powerful engine – but the wheels are as thin as those on a bicycle. That won’t give you any traction on the road,” says Stephan Rüscher, Head of the Technology Training Center at the Glatt Group, quoting his colleague Dr. Olivier Paquet-Durand, PAT expert at the Glatt Group. With this image, he captures a dilemma that has accompanied the pharmaceutical industry for more than two decades: Process Analytical Technologies (PAT) are powerful, well established, and even encouraged by regulators – and yet a gap remains between theory and practice. The sports car symbolizes the enormous technological potential, while the bicycle tires represent a lack of process understanding, unclear measurement tasks, regulatory hurdles, and structural deficiencies along the entire value chain.

PAT is More Than a Sensor in the Process