6 Ways Digital Technologies are Transforming the Pharma Industry in 2020 & Beyond

Table of contents

• Industry at a glance
• How the pandemic has changed the face of Pharma?
• Application of technology for smart pharma
• Future challenges and expectations

1. Industry at a Glance

   The Pharmaceutical Industry has been showing a significant amount of growth from the last two decades. From Roche to Pfizer, market valuation of such companies are crossing billions of day to day operations after the COVID-19. The industry is expected to cross 1.57 Trillion US dollars by 2023 as per a report from GlobalData. As people are becoming more health conscious, the expenditure on healthcare is pushing the industry to another level. The growth is also fueled by the rising and ageing population. Some other market drivers are rising spending power, access to quality health etc. are pushing the pharma industry to a new height. Whereas the government authority in the key markets are coming up with stricter laws and regulations which is forcing firms to spend less on R&D. The major part of the revenue of these companies are coming from the exclusivity of drugs which is impacting the global forum of pharmaceutical industry.

2. How Pandemic has changed the face of Pharma?

   The COVID-19 pandemic has already changed the face of everything the way it used to be. The pharmaceutical industry is showing positive growth in the share market and innovations to fight against the COVID-19. All the companies are in competition for application of technology for a better R&D and to launch a drug to show their own compassion. With the advancements in technology, businesses are opting for automation to reduce error and to save cost. 

3. Application of technology for Smart Pharma

   The Pharmaceutical industry is growing towards efficiency modification from the last few decades and concentrating more on automation and data collection. Most of these developments have either happened in the core business module or packaging. Whereas, some firms are still adopting technology without disturbing the core business and increasing the efficiency which doesn’t require changing the complete module which is better than waiting and watching the market to evolve. Some of the innovations that are making pharma “smart” are:

   • RPA– The complete data delivery and analysis procedure can be turned into an automated procedure with less failure and in less time. It can meet patient expectations under regulatory requirements.
   • Blockchain– Data security has always been an issue and with the application of blockchain technology, data errors or tamper will be eliminated. As there is a lot of important and personal information that can be misused or hampered can be saved with the super secure tech available.
   • AI/ML- Testing in Pharmaceutical has always been a cumbersome task. With such a vast variety of data collected, it becomes difficult to analyse the actual condition. An AI can turn the piece of unsaturated data into a useful one and can tell the actual condition of the subject. Whereas machine learning is making the complete process less lengthy which saves a lot of cost and time.
   • Firms are opting for AI/ML in a step towards automation, such is the case with Dr. Lal Path Labs. When they discovered the efficiency gap in their operation model and contacted us, [x]cube LABS, With the help of machine learning and artificial intelligence, devised a solution which closely monitors the operation and eliminates the gap. This solution helped all the customers by saving time and transparency in the system.
   • Big Data– Data collection and saving it for future reference is a task every firm is busy with. With growing competition in the market, pharma companies are also coming up with product marketing and becoming customer centric by researching their customer base. To access this huge pile of data, firms are opting for big data to get the real time access to any data required at present or future.
   • VR/AR – Skilled labor or workforce are the essentials to have to excel in the market. VR/AR can be used to train the particular work force and get them a real experience of the work and process related to it.Asian Paints faced a similar problem when training the workforce was a big thought due to the unavailability of particular damage on the property that can not be shown on a regular basis. [x]cube LABS came up with a solution using virtual reality that provided experiential learning for the employees where they can walk around a building.
   • IoT– market data has been collected all over to get the actual data on the operations and the customer. The same application of the tech in pharma can help improve a lot of gaps between the firm and their stakeholders.

4. Future Challenges and Expectations

   WIth the rise in the spread of COVID-19, the reputation of pharmaceutical firms are on line which needs more innovation and effective methods to satisfy the future needs of the people. Expectations are not easy to fulfil but with a customer centric approach, the industry can address it effectively. The impact they leave now in times of global fear will be the deciding factor for future growth of this industry. Real time technology which will monitor the data and action time on the data will be the differentiating factor for the future to come.