The objective was clear. Almac wanted to shorten the distance between ideas and production-ready solutions, while maintaining the highest standards. Like many organisations in regulated sectors, they’d seen promising concepts stall in the space between “what if we tried AI for this?” and “here’s something we can safely deploy.”

They partnered with us to run a two-day AI-first training and rapid prototyping session. The goal: enhance capability and confidence across the organisation by turning complex concepts into working prototypes, fast and securely.

Our 14-year partnership with Almac gave us deep insight into their culture and regulatory needs. This allowed us to create a secure environment where teams could learn, experiment, and prove what was possible with space to explore without constraints.

Starting with Almac’s goals

Almac’s aim was straightforward: equip its teams to adopt AI confidently and safely. Brendan Woods, Director – Systems Delivery wanted to introduce collaborative “vibe coding” across the business. What began as a focused workshop grew rapidly, attendance tripling in weeks as multiple business units stepped forward.

  • 14-Year Partnership

    We have been working with Almac for 14 years, demonstrating a long-term, trusted relationship that underpins strategic enablement efforts

  • 3x Expected Attendance

    The hackathon attracted three times more participants than expected, showing strong cross-functional engagement and interest

  • 2-Day Hackathon Duration

    The AI first training and hackathon event was conducted over two days, enabling rapid prototyping and cross-functional collaboration

Four diverse business professionals smiling and collaborating around a laptop in a modern office meeting room.

How cross‑functional participation strengthened outcomes

A defining feature of the event was its cross functional reach. Brendan emphasised that innovation should not sit solely with engineering teams. To reflect the realities of how Almac operates, 18 colleagues from two Almac businesses, the IT organisation, and a wide range of professional backgrounds were invited to take part.

This diversity was essential. By bringing analysts, operational teams, and non-technical colleagues into the process, the teams tackled challenges grounded in real needs. Participants valued the opportunity to contribute, and every person left with a tangible output they had helped to build.

Two colleagues wearing headsets and ID lanyards working together at a computer, reviewing data on a large monitor in an office setting.

Turning real business challenges into working prototypes

A major test case for the hackathon was Almac’s existing “Control Tower” system, which manages product movement across borders in a robust and highly sophisticated way. Could the teams build a prototype within 48 hours that approached its specific core behaviour and explored the possibility of real-time enhancements?

Participants explored AI tools, used agentic capabilities to generate and refine code, and validated feasibility quickly. The goal wasn’t a finished product, but to test assumptions and understand where AI could accelerate development safely for the future.

The event showed how much progress is possible when teams are given the right structure and support. What traditionally requires weeks of preparation was achieved within the two-day event. This rapid approach also gave Almac a way to fast‑track decision‑making in a traditionally gated, regulated environment.

“Over two energising days, five cross‑functional teams from Almac Group Information Services, Almac Clinical Services, and Almac Pharma Services partnered with Version 1 to run a Hackathon using Microsoft GitHub Copilot and Vibe Programming. The results were outstanding.

The teams built working prototypes and, more importantly, have new views on a new way of working that will help Almac deliver IT solutions faster and responsibly. We wrapped up with demos to senior Almac leadership who were impressively supportive of what the teams achieved in such a short timeframe.

A huge thank‑you to everyone involved and to our partners at Version 1 for hosting the event. The energy in the room makes us excited about the future of AI‑enabled solution delivery across Almac Group and the knock-on benefits this will have to the wider Life Sciences Industry.”

Brendan Woods, Director – Systems Delivery, Almac

Creating a repeatable model for sustainable innovation

The event was designed using our structured approach: brief, design, build, review, secure, demo. Ideas were validated ahead of time to ensure the sprint focused on feasible opportunities. This allowed teams to maximise the two days and concentrate on work aligned with their infrastructure and regulatory needs.

The mix of skills in the room also strengthened outcomes. Involving colleagues from delivery, and operational areas introduced fresh thinking, surfaced new insights, and supported more inclusive problem solving. Alongside technical outcomes, the event boosted team energy and confidence. The shared problem solving, combined with the excitement of presenting working prototypes, created a strong sense of collective achievement.

Participants left with new skills and a clearer understanding of how their organisation could evolve, including a practical framework they could reuse to run smaller hackathons across the business.

Responsible AI guidance and tool agnostic support

Throughout the event, Almac benefited from our broader responsible AI practice, including enterprise-wide governance, and a tool agnostic approach that ensured recommendations were based on what best suited Almac, and aligned with their best-practice requirements rather than a fixed technology stack.

This flexibility allowed participants to test multiple tools ensuring the experience reflected their operational context and future needs. Working with a partner who had already tested, refined, and codified these methods meant Almac could progress with confidence from day one.

Accelerating what comes next

Across the two-day event, Almac’s teams moved from curiosity to capability. They tested new tools, built functioning prototypes, and experienced a delivery model built on speed, collaboration, and safety. Most importantly, they saw first-hand how AI can reduce the time between identifying a problem and creating a viable solution.

For Almac, this marks the beginning of a more confident and empowered approach to innovation. For us, it reinforces our commitment to helping customers modernise, transform, and accelerate sustainably, with people and outcomes at the centre.

See how Almac brought teams together to build secure, AI‑driven prototypes in just 48 hours and what this new way of working unlocked across their organisation in the video below.