Technology Bringing the Pharma Industry Closer to Patients

By Atanu Roy, VP & CIO, IT & Business Process Excellence, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd

Atanu Roy, VP & CIO, IT & Business Process Excellence, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd

The pharmaceutical industry is in the midst of its transformation phase, where it is exploring more and more opportunities to increase its productivity and quality. Since the regulations that drive the industry have become more stringent, it is now imperative for companies to comply with the compliances imposed. Providing assistance to tackle these issues and meet the standard regulations put on by the industry, are the technology solutions, on which the pharmaceutical industry has beginning to rely. As the studies and statistics are hinting to a rise in the industry and market, the companies are not willing to let this opportunity slip off their hands. As a result, there is significant investment being made in technology by the pharmaceutical industry to implement quality systems and manufacturing systems to ensure data integrity and complete automation of shop floor and quality systems. Apart from that the industry is also investing in analytics, big data and digital initiative in general. Also, there is focus on disaster recovery systems adding to business continuity.

With the maturity of digital initiatives and automation of the technology that has come about, and its adoption in the pharmaceutical industry the efficiency and the quality of products are enhancing significantly thus addressing most of the issues. Technology is also helping the industry to get closer to customers and patients, closer to doctors through mobile phones and social media. It is also helping patients in drug adherences so that they complete their course in medicine. So the advancement in technology is in both perspectives; the customer side and within the organization.

There is also a rise in the number of pharmaceutical companies that are investing significantly in closed loop CRM solutions to get closer to doctors and serve them better and also help them to manage their patients in a much better way through innovative digital and social solutions.

Technology has significantly increased within the organizations thus enhancing the productivity and ensuring consistency in the quality processes. It ensures the overall quality by automating the entire factory. Technology has also led to a remarkable improvement in the automation and agility in the supply chain. Apart from that the analytics system provided in the solution is helping organizations take faster and better decisions. The Growing CRO Industry Another transformation in the industry is the contract research which today is a multi-billion dollar industry. Steadily inflating production costs coupled with stagnant productivity has compelled pharmaceutical companies to outsource their functions to CRO's. This is also an effort toward cost reduction and time saving. According to market analysts, next three years would see an approximate 16 percent growth in the CRO industry While growth in developed markets will slow down, emerging markets will become increasingly important in the coming decade. The Indian pharmaceuticals market, along with the markets of China, Brazil and Russia, is leading itself to spearhead growth within these markets.