West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) Barclays 28th Annual Global Healthcare Conference summary

Leadership transition and strategic planning

• CEO announced intent to retire after successor is identified, citing strong company position and leadership team stability.

• External executive recruitment firm will be engaged to consider both internal and external candidates.

• CEO will remain fully engaged until a smooth transition is completed.

Market trends and growth drivers

• Macro trends such as the rise of biologics, biosimilars, and GLP-1s are fueling long-term growth.

• Company participates in over 90% of new biologic and biosimilar approvals and benefits from global manufacturing footprint.

• GLP-1 market is expanding, with orals bringing new patients and generics expected to drive further growth.

• High-Value Product (HVP) portfolio is increasingly used in biosimilars and generics, especially in emerging markets.

Operational execution and capacity

• Manufacturing assets are fungible, allowing flexible product allocation and rapid response to demand shifts.

• Recent supply-demand imbalance in Europe was due to labor bottlenecks, not asset constraints; normalization expected by 2026.

• CapEx is planned at 6%-8% of sales, with most spend growth-oriented and assets in place to support expansion.

• Onshoring trend is leading to tech transfers from Europe to U.S. plants, reducing tariffs and balancing capacity.