Pharmaceutical Business – Trends and Challenges – Part 4 – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #670

Pharmaceutical Business – Trends and Challenges – Part 4 – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #670

Dear Colleagues!  This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #670 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans welcome sharing of knowledge and wisdom by Veterans for the benefit of Community at large. Pharma Veterans Blog is published by Asrar Qureshi on  WordPress, the top blog site. Please email to asrar@asrarqureshi.com for publishing your contributions here.

Continued from Previous…… This series is based on a report from StartUS insights.

Trend #5 – Additive Manufacturing

The scale and scope of development still baffles at time, though we know the technology is moving very fast. Additive manufacturing is being explored in two dimensions: one, the use of 3D printers to develop human tissue which could be used for drug development, organ engineering, and regenerative medicine; and two, another kind of 3D printers to make personalized pills. This will also allow to develop age or physiology related medical formulations.

A British startup manufactures a proprietary 3D which can make personalized pills. It is a single step printing process, and it can manufacture pills of many varieties such as sustained release, delayed release, or multidrug combination pills. It also enables production of very small batches for clinical trials.

A US-based startup offers a 3D bioprinter for making human tissues. Their bioprinter uses electro-hydrodynamic printing – EDHP, which is capable of delivering tissues with micro and nano-scale features, and with higher survival rates. These tissues can be used for testing new pharmaceutical products with the expectation that the results will be similar to real human tissue.

Trend #6 – Blockchain

Usually, we relate blockchain with cryptocurrency where the term became popular initially. However, blockchain is basically a technology-based workflow which is secure and through which sensitive information can be shared between various stakeholders securely. Pharmaceutical companies are among the most prolific patent appliers because they keep applying patents at all stages of drug development. This is intellectual property and is regarded as highly confidential. New drugs development projects are always codenamed and are not revealed till the company voluntarily does it.

A German startup is offering blockchain-based ecosystem to secure data, which makes sharing of crucial and sensitive information between stakeholders in the pharmaceutical marketplace. It uses smart contracts implemented in Hyperledger fabric to address the issue of trust deficit. In addition, it provides precise, secure control over the information being shared.

A British startup offers a blockchain-based platform for document collaboration and workflow management in pharmaceutical supply chain. It enables secure document sharing between supply chain partners with immutable audit logs for security. The advanced stage of Good Manufacturing Practices – GMP is Good Automated Manufacturing Practices – GAMP. This startup is offering GAMP 5 compliant, cloud-based software which lets stakeholders within and outside the organization, collaborate at various stages of pharmaceutical supply chain.

Trend #7 – Extended Reality

The ‘Reality’ is no more ‘real’, we may say that. Mixed Reality – MR, Virtual Reality – VR, and Augmented Reality – AR are enabling visualizations in new ways. Extended Reality – ER tools enable interactions between research teams in real time. More tools are being developed to make human augmentation in pharma a reality through extended reality tools and wearables.

A US-based startup is offering VR collaboration tools for atomic, molecular, and protein visualization. The research can use the tools to work on designs alone and can also work in virtual workplace with global team members.

A German startup develops an augmented reality suite for pharma and biopharma manufacturers. Their modular design allows for both standalone and connected systems. Additionally, this suite supports all shop floor processes like manufacturing, filling, primary and secondary packaging.

Trend #8 – Real World Data

Real World Data – RWD and Real Word Evidence – RWE are seriously impacting innovations in the pharmaceutical industry. The industry is involved in continuous research and generates and makes use of data. However, the availability of RWD through Internet of Things – IoT, sensors and wearables has extended the scope of data gathering.

A US-based startup creates structured data sets from unstructured RWD sources. It offers data collaborations to pharma clients for uncovering value in the RWD. 

A Romanian startup offers a research platform based on real-world cancer patients’ data to enable early detection, treatment, and cure. Their Analytics tool also provides real-world evidence insights for regulatory decision making, clinical trial design, and multi-center studies.

To be Continued……

Disclaimer. Most pictures in these blogs are taken from Google Images which does not show anyone’s copyright claim. However, if any such claim is presented, we shall remove the image with suitable regrets.