Andrea Wagner on Building PharmaPhixx and Breaking Barriers

When Andrea Wagner co-founded PharmaPhixx, she was solving a problem she knew all too well. After years of leading sterile fill-finish CDMOs, Wagner grew frustrated with a recurring issue: equipment failures and breakdowns and the inconsistent support that followed. That frustration fueled her to team up with an old coworker and a fellow female entrepreneur who had built engineering support businesses in more complex and higher-stakes industries. Together they launched PharmaPhixx with the mission to bring expert engineering support directly into pharma to cut downtime, improve lead times, and help manufacturers run seamlessly. 

But PharmaPhixx isn’t just fixing machines. They offer automation, cybersecurity, real-time reporting, CapEx planning, and more. As a women-owned and funded company, it stands as both a technical powerhouse and a statement of representation in a field that remains heavily male-dominated.

In this CEO Spotlight, Wagner discusses the company’s founding story, its “fit-for-purpose” approach, and why she believes solving complex problems with speed and precision is the key to speeding pharma’s innovation and modernization. She also opens up about her commitment to advancing women in STEM leadership, and why showing up and doing the work is sometimes the most powerful way to change an industry.

Contract Pharma: Tell us about your founding journey. What inspired you to start PharmaPhixx, and what problem were you aiming to solve in the pharmaceutical services space?

Andrea Wagner: I helped lead and co-founded two sterile fill-finish CDMOs, and the constant struggle was equipment. Slow vendor response, performance issues, you name it. I was speaking to another woman founder, a professional electrical engineer who had built several engineering support businesses, and we thought, why not bring that expertise into pharma? 

We teamed up, along with a former colleague, and started PharmaPhixx to deliver expert engineering support to pharma. 

We also wanted to create more space for women in this industry, because it is very male dominated. Sometimes the best way to make an industry more diverse is simply to show up and do the work. We’re women-owned and funded, and we want the next generation of women to see what’s possible.

CP: How would you describe PharmaPhixx’s core mission and differentiating value proposition? What sets your approach apart from other consultancies or service providers in the pharma ecosystem?

Andrea: Our mission is to help pharma manufacturers get more done by reducing downtime and improving lead times.

Our tagline is “seamless operations deliver more,” and that comes from experience. When I was on the CDMO side, I knew how unstoppable we were when the equipment ran the way it should. That’s exactly why PharmaPhixx exists: to help you keep things running smoothly so you can accomplish more.

CP: You bring extensive experience to your role. How have your previous leadership roles shaped your vision for PharmaPhixx?

Andrea: My past roles really shaped PharmaPhixx, because I went through the struggles myself. Every company I led or co-owned dealt with the same thing. Equipment goes down and we scramble to get it back up. Getting support and finding the root cause was always harder than it should’ve been.

And the funny thing is, what pharma and biotech call “complex” really isn’t that complex in other industries. So now, being able to bring in those answers and fix the very problems I used to face, that’s what excites me. It feels good to finally give companies the solutions I always wished I had.

CP: PharmaPhixx emphasizes a personalized, “fit-for-purpose” model. Can you share an example of how this has helped a client navigate a complex challenge or achieve a breakthrough?

Andrea: Clients turn to us for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes they’re designing something brand new and need controls, engineering, or mechanical expertise, or they’re trying to solve a problem quickly to cut downtime, or they want to build a facility faster. Whatever the challenge, we drop in with experienced engineers and quality professionals to get the job done quickly and correctly. That saves our clients time, builds trust, and it makes it easier for them to move forward.

Another great example is a company that needed refrigeration support for lyophilization. They’d been struggling with the same issue for years. They had a lyophilizer that wasn’t performing to manufacturer specs. Their existing refrigeration vendor didn’t offer comprehensive repair service, so they weren’t even aware of the multiple leaks or that the unit wasn’t tuned for optimal cycles. We brought in someone with deep lyo knowledge, identified and repaired the leaks, and worked with their local team to make fixes that lasted. We had it resolved in about a week. That’s the kind of result our fit-for-purpose model delivers.

CP: How is PharmaPhixx supporting clients in an era of increasing complexity—whether in regulatory affairs, supply chains, or development strategy?

Andrea: Pharma is becoming increasingly computer driven. We’ve started seeing a lot of that start in 2010. Strong controls engineering is critical. You need experts who can read and write new code to streamline processes, troubleshoot errors in coding or reduce manual work. That’s a core strength for us at PharmaPhixx. Especially because we have expert engineers from far more complex and advanced industries than pharma manufacturing.

It’s like how hiring a good lawyer can save you time and money. They all charge you by the hour. If you get someone good, they won’t need as much time to solve your problem, and they will do a better job of it.

We don’t send in one- or two-year technicians for complex projects. If you have specialized equipment, like an isolator, you shouldn’t need multiple people to service it. You just need one highly skilled engineer who can handle all of it. We match the right expert to the challenge, so clients get efficient, complete solutions.

CP: Innovation and agility are key in today’s pharma environment. How is PharmaPhixx adapting to emerging technologies such as AI, data analytics, or digital transformation?

Andrea: AI has become a big word in the last couple of years. We already see AI being used to check SOPs against batch records for compliance. It’s being used to write code. It’s used to help advance cyber security. We’re still in the early days, like the internet in the ’90s, but in 10–15 years it will be everywhere. Our job is to keep educating and training our people so they’re ready to lead as these technologies mature.

We also pulled in experts from industries decades ahead of pharma in terms of technology and system complexity. And I’ve seen that background help us solve problems faster and implement smarter solutions. Right now, for example, we’re automating a completely manual process for an API manufacturer. The client’s thrilled with the speed, and our engineer even said it’s one of the easier projects he’s taken on. I think we are advancing the industry by bringing advanced controls engineering that’s already out there and helping to implement them into pharma, whether that’s data analytics or automation on production lines.

CP: The outsourcing landscape continues to evolve. What trends are you seeing in how pharma and biotech companies are engaging external partners, and how is PharmaPhixx positioned to meet those needs?

Andrea: There’s been a lot more outsourcing since 2020. Even big pharma does a lot of outsourcing, and they also diversify, so they are not relying upon one manufacturer.

We see that as the number of manufacturers grow, there is a growing need for technicians or for expert help to go in and fix equipment that’s built to do a multitude of things and service several different products and clients. When you have flexible equipment, it’s more complex. It requires more individualized and expert support to fix problems and keep it running. I think PharmaPhixx is really poised to do well here. We are very good at helping companies solve complex problems quickly and teach their internal teams to solve them for themselves in the future. 

CP: As a female founder and CEO in life sciences, what advice would you give to other women aspiring to leadership roles in this industry?

Andrea: Just go for it. Look for the women in life sciences who are already at the top and don’t be afraid to find mentors, even men in the industry. The truth is, as a woman, you’re often looked at, perceived, and judged differently. You’ve got to recognize that and not let it wear you down.

I wrote a book called Women Nerds that’s coming out soon. It’s all about how we can get more women into leadership in STEM. A lot of women shy away from those roles because there isn’t much support. The book digs into how to change that, how to experiment with new ways forward, and even how to build your own path so you can be not just more successful, but happier doing it.

CP: Looking ahead, what are your strategic priorities for PharmaPhixx over the next 12–18 months? Are there new capabilities, markets, or partnerships on the horizon?

Andrea: We’ve got some exciting things lined up. We’ve signed a few partnerships that really expand what we can offer. One is with an expert in capping technology and container closure. He doesn’t want a full-time job, but through PharmaPhixx, companies can tap into his knowledge when they need it. That’s the model we’re building. We allow companies to access top experts without having to hire them permanently.

We’ve also partnered with a group, called Vimachem, that installs analytical monitoring software to track equipment usage and output, so we can install that equipment and maintain it, and Vimachem offers the software to give easy and advanced reporting. We also partnered with an engineering services firm, Pinnaql. They handle validation of buildouts and upgrades to facilities, and we can step in with our engineers to support things like utility calculations or system design.

The bigger vision is to keep growing this network of specialists and partners, so our clients can get exactly the expertise they need, when they need it.

CP: What keeps you motivated in this business? What excites you most about the work PharmaPhixx is doing right now?

Andrea: What keeps me motivated is solving problems. I’ve always loved that. After selling my last company, I didn’t have to come back into the industry, but I knew PharmaPhixx needed to exist. I saw a gap that could really change the way this industry works, and I knew if it wasn’t me, with my background in drug manufacturing and my co-founder who had already built this kind of engineering support model in other fields, it might never happen. We saw the problem clearly and knew how to fix it.

That’s what excites me. I like working with clients, helping them succeed, and building something the industry needs. And along the way, I’ve gained a whole new appreciation for the engineers I work with. The way they think, the way they approach challenges. It’s inspiring, and it makes this work exciting. CP

Learn more at www.pharmaphixx.com