The Tech Trends of the Pharma Industry for 2022 and 2023

Context and predictions of the Pharma Industry

The challenging times we have been through in recent years have accentuated the importance of the pharma industry and its advances in daily life.

A report by the IQVIA Institute, on predictions of the pharmaceutical industry, highlights that its growth is expected to exceed 1.5 trillion dollars in 2023, due to the growth it has had in recent years.

On the other hand, due to the increasing demand for new drugs and medicines, pharmaceutical companies are expected to increase the productivity of automated equipment and robotics. According to GMI Insights, the size of the pharmaceutical robot market is estimated to grow exponentially from 2022 to 2028 due to the need for automation in manufacturing units and the high cost of new drug discovery.

Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the industry to adopt robots to streamline operations, reduce costs and process complexity, especially in North America and Europe. According to the Robotic Industries Association (IRA), orders for robots from North American life sciences companies in 2020 were up approximately 69% compared to the previous year.

Technological trends of the pharmaceutical industry for 2022 and 2023

As a result of the situation and the challenges that have arisen for the pharma industry in recent years, some trends that companies are adopting to advance with the help of technology have been identified.

Here are the eight tech trends for 2022 and 2023:

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI):

AI is increasing its presence and contribution across industries to perform tasks and make predictions. Within the pharmaceutical industry, AI is contributing to the acceleration of the discovery and development of new drugs. It is one of the tools used to search for patients in clinical trials and drug improvement.

2. Digital Processes:

Digital processes have helped make operations more efficient and drive regulatory compliance to enable pharmaceutical companies to accurately track data. Pharmaceutical companies have benefited from the use of digital processes due to the organization it provides and the transparency it provides across departments.

3. Cloud Technology:

In the pharmaceutical industry, Cloud technology enables companies to partner with other stakeholders to be more efficient and provides a cost-effective and secure way to perform analysis. The industry is relying on this technology for the security and centralized access it allows to analyze the complex data associated with clinical trials.

4. Digital training:

Online training for new technologies will continue to grow to improve operations and compliance in the pharmaceutical industry. This is a very profitable tool because it can be done from anywhere and at any time and allows customization for each user. Through digital training, companies ensure that teams use technologies such as electronic signatures, patient scheduling portals and electronic document software correctly, reducing the possibility of errors and contributing to compliance with regulatory standards about the use of the information.

5. Increased focus on research and development (R&D):

Pharmaceutical companies are rethinking how to approach research and development to better meet the needs of patients and protect their bottom line. As they seek to refine their R&D practices, they are turning to innovative technologies to support their goals. Innovation models such as open source, crowdsourcing, innovation hubs, and public-private partnerships offer new opportunities for pharmaceutical companies to reduce the high cost of R&D while also identifying new ways to solve problems.

6. Precision Medicine:

Precision medicine seeks drug development based on a deeper understanding of the patient. Natural language processing (NLP) is playing a critical role in precision medicine, as pharmaceutical companies use it to review health records and better identify disease variants.

7. Big Data:

Proper analysis of R&D insights requires systems that can keep up with the vast volume of data. Big data is helping pharmaceutical companies with predictive, prescriptive, and diagnostic analytics that inform new drug discoveries and developments.

8. Blockchain technology or blockchain:

Blockchain technology streamlines drug production and distribution processes, helps achieve better results with research and development, and enhances security and transparency. This prevents counterfeit or low-quality medicines from reaching the consumer. Pharmaceutical companies will continue to embrace blockchain to increase visibility, ensure compliance, improve drug traceability, and simplify transactions.

Conclusion

Despite the challenges that pharmaceutical companies have had and the high standards required by this industry and the large-scale demands generated by the pandemic, they have managed to implement new technologies that have allowed the industry to advance worldwide.

Digitization in all areas has become an essential tool to maintain leadership, guarantee accurate results and improve processes within pharmaceutical companies. This digitization process to improve efficiency has resulted in the evolution towards the pharmaceutical company 4.0.

In this way, technology is fundamentally contributing to innovations and advances in the pharmaceutical industry in all the areas in which it operates and towards all types of stakeholders. These technological advances have made it possible to obtain new vaccines, develop new medicines and provide better services that directly impact the quality and life expectancy of the world population.

Finally, the technological trends mentioned in this article are changing the pharmaceutical industry, adding value to its processes and accelerating the development of pharmaceutical companies within it. Likewise, they are marking a path towards greater productivity, efficiency and quality of service in the coming years.

Those companies that remain at the forefront of technological trends will continue to lead the industry and develop new opportunities in the area of ​​health.