How Can CIOs Leverage Digitalization to Enhance Drug Development?
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How Can CIOs Leverage Digitalization to Enhance Drug Development?

Pharma Tech Outlook | Monday, October 07, 2019

 

The CIOs have a crucial role to play in establishing the right technology to specific pharmaceutical processes and improving the overall productivity of the organization.

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FREMONT, CA:  The pharmaceutical industry is undergoing a significant change in this era of digitalization, evolving and adapting according to demands of the market and the compliance requirements. As the landscape is in the molding stage, the CIOs can prepare their organizations for the digital wave by promoting the integration of robust technologies, such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), internet of things (IoT), and smart manufacturing.

Pharmaceutical organizations can potentially witness enhanced innovation and streamlined delivery with the connectivity facilitated by technologies such as cloud computing and IoT. AI will enable faster processing of drug-related data and will help the organizations in drawing valuable insights for decision-making. It will not only allow faster time-to-market but will also ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. However, the expertise and knowledge of CIOs are paramount during the incorporation of nascent technologies.

The CIOs can consider the integration of the following technologies to enhance drug discovery and development:

Artificial Intelligence

AI will enable pharmaceutical organizations to streamline their processes and avoid production downtime. The algorithmic techniques and data analytics capabilities offered by the technology will allow them to reduce the time between drug discovery and development. With AI, organizations can easily correlate, assimilate, and connect existing datasets at a faster rate to create hypotheses, evaluate compounds, and perform clinical trials. The ability of AI to process vast amounts of data in a short period will facilitate greater efficiency in the drug development process. AI-based systems can be used to consolidate genetic and patient data to identify patterns in the disease processes and design safe and effective drugs. It will also enable the companies to tailor the doses according to the variations in genetic data.

Machine Learning

ML technology presents an excellent opportunity for pharmaceutical organizations to access and understand the vast troves of chemical data seamlessly. It can be used to automate the data processes. The predictive modeling capabilities offered by the technology enables them to identify potential candidate molecules with a high probability of success. ML will allow organizations to establish real-time monitoring, facilitating the consolidation of data silos. It will not only avert adverse events but will also prevent unnecessary delays.

Internet of Things

IoT leverages robust sensors to establish connectivity on the production floor, enabling seamless aggregation of data over multiple departments. The IoT for Pharmaceutical Manufacturing allows seamless monitoring of the production process irrespective of time and location. It enables minimization of waste, optimization of time, increase in equipment utilization, and reduction in production costs. The automatic identification and data capturing capability of pharmaceutical IoT facilitates the automatic identification of objects, data collection, and storage with minimal human intervention. The RFID and sensors provide real-time visibility, enabling the organizations to conduct predictive maintenance of machines and equipment.

Big Data

CIO's can bring greater precision and efficacy into the various processes of drug development, including discovery, clinical trials, commercialization, and packaging. The data gathered across the life cycle of the drugs will enable the pharmaceutical organizations to develop personalized drugs and eliminate the guesswork involved in the process. It will help them in quantifying the varying needs of the demographic populations. The insights provided by the data can lead to a better understanding of how different diseases affect different patient groups.

CIOs function is crucial in the age of technology. A CIO is a person who can ensure that the IT infrastructures in the organization work seamlessly to solve the prominent business challenges. Rather than an overseer of technology, a CIO is someone who introduces technological solutions to meet the current and future business needs of the organizations. The implications of emerging technology in the life science sector are vast, as it will enable them to meet the demands of customers while also maintaining the integrity of the organization.

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