The CPhI WorldWide 2021, Milan, Italy

The CPhI WorldWide 2021 event, is set to return to Milan, Italy after a decade, as Italy finally lifts restrictions on live events. In a statement dated the 16th of April 2021, the Italian government has announced the allowing of live events, trade shows and exhibitions in Italy, starting the 1st of July 2021. It may be recalled the 2020 edition of the fair was postponed because of the corona virus induced worldwide pandemic. Since then, there have been hardly any live events, anywhere in the world. Some venues in Europe that typically host smaller shows have started functioning, but, as yet they have been hosting only the smaller shows. Nothing major has taken place as yet. There have also been some shows at venues in China and the Middle East, but then again, the scale of the events has not really matched up to that of the fairs that European fairs are typically known for.

The CPhI WorldWide fair this year has been planned as a hybrid fair, that has both a physical format, as well as a virtual one. In fact, hybrid fairs are pretty much the norm these days, and they look to be the future of the exhibition industry. It should be understood that fairs that are entirely based on a virtual platform, can never really replace a live physical fair. And a fair that is exclusively live and physical, may not be a possibility in the immediate future. So a hybrid fair, combines the best of both worlds, and looks to be a format that is here to stay. At least for a few years, if not more.

Coming back to the fair, Milan is a really apt location for this years edition of the fair, especially in view of the fact that it is coming back at a tough time, and Italy is widely anticipated as one of the major beneficiaries of geo-diverse sourcing strategies. Italy is also Europe's largest producer and exporter of APIs. As per Pharmiweb.com, Italy is well set for growth in 2021, as the pharma industry looks for new manufacturing partners.

As per the official website of the fair, the organizers have spent the last year developing stringent health and safety standards for all their events, and will be implementing the Informa AllSecure measures at the CPhI WorldWide this year. Registrations for the fair, have gone live since May including for the in-person and online events. The online content and networking platform, is slated to go live in October, and it will be possible to meet new suppliers, source innovative products and hear about the latest trends from the pharmaceutical industry, through rich content focused sessions. The in-person event, will go live from the 9th of November 2021 till the 11th of November 2021 in Milan for three intense days of face-to-face meetings, networking, sourcing, learning and exploring business opportunities.