Key Trends in Pharma

Key Trends in Pharma

The pharma industry is experiencing rapid growth; Multiple trends are currently shaping the industry in the way medicines are produced or supplied. The rise of personalized or precision medicine in one the top trends. It revolves around creating drugs modified to fit individual patients based their predicted response to treatment. New technologies are also emerging that help the industry produce a wider and more complex variety of medicines.

Initiatives using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in drug production are also gaining momentum. By digitizing the manufacturing process, most drug manufacturers are eliminating instances of data loss and errors in transcription, which improves the efficiency of the operation process.

Contract manufacturing is also a rising trend. It enables big pharma firms to improve their manufacturing speed and enhance their efficiency as well as market access by outsourcing production and services globally. Contract manufacturers will therefore need to adopt high standards of quality and flexibility to be able to compete in the market.

As an alternative to batch production, the industry is shifting into a continuous production process, resulting in increased production speeds and reduced human errors. The method of constant output also leads to a reduced need for multiple production facilities.

To maximize value, the staffs involved in the production and supply of drugs are trained in highly regulated environments using digital simulation programs. These virtual programs allow workers gain more real-time experience of the whole process, which leads to improved production.

Further, single-use facilities are becoming more common as more manufacturers are opting to scale-out than scale-up. These facilities are preferred as the cost of opening large scale facilities is extremely high. The single-use facilities offer more enhanced capabilities than the traditional ones at a lower price, making them an optimal choice for manufacturers. The product handling is also a major factor to consider in the product supply chain. Due to the fact that the products are highly sensitive in nature, new technologies are coming up to facilitate the movement process of the drugs. These may involve temperature controlled and Hazchem approved methods.

For manufacturers to succeed in a changing pharmaceutical landscape, they would need to adapt to changing environment and leverage on winning trends. This entails making crucial decisions in terms of their production and supply chain processes and capabilities.