1. Smart Factories and a new logistics

[nurmohammadkhan]

The Smart Factory is the basic unit of what is often referred to as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or Industry 4.0 . A process that – of course – concerns all sectors, not just the pharmaceutical one.

To put it briefly, it is about bringing Digital Transformation into production plants, increasing connectivity between machines, through IoT (Internet of Things) systems and implementing data analysis, machine learning and all the dynamics of data-driven .

The goals and benefits?

Maximum control over processes
Optimization along all production chains
Significant increase in productivity
Increased security
But that's not all: factories 4.0 are the necessary turning point to reduce time-to-market , responding to the challenges of a context that requires maximum reactivity , with rapid, scalable, flexible responses.

Finally, there is the huge issue of logistics and distribution . Another very algeria whatsapp resource delicate aspect for Pharma, which requires a widespread, rapid distribution network, capable of reacting to stress quickly and in an automated manner. All this without imploding and maintaining a complex scale of priorities (just think of the difference between the distribution of urgent drugs and ordinary ones, the issue of perishability, or requests that can proceed in sometimes unforeseen waves, with all the complex consequences of the case).

Again, in this field the only possible answer comes from digital and Artificial Intelligence systems , capable of processing an enormous number of different data and inputs, transforming them, in a very short time, into effective and functional outputs and decisions.

2. A boost for the research and development front
On the Research & Development front, we have already dwelt on the topic of Big Data. Once again, the starting point is the collection and analysis of information. The point of arrival is the ability to interpret and make these analyses operational. And this is precisely what artificial intelligence must do in the Pharma sector .

How does all this translate?

Reducing the time to discover and develop new drugs.
Efficiency in recruiting volunteers for clinical trials , both in terms of timing and identification of the most suitable profiles.
Identification of new therapeutic combinations .
Screening and diagnostic support .
Higher quality in the final pharmaceutical product .
Increased safety .
Reducing costs and reducing waste .
Ability to very quickly recalibrate research and development based on the interpretation of initial results.
It is clear that we are talking about a vast set of factors of the utmost importance. And the point to always keep in mind is that the application of AI systems has a huge beneficial impact on all of these, simultaneously. What is triggered is a powerful virtuous circle .

The news of the first drug made entirely with the support of artificial intelligence dates back to 2020 : it is the  DSP-1181 molecule , developed by the startup Exscientia, in collaboration with the Japanese company Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

All in 12 months, for a job that, with traditional methods, would have taken several years (source: europeanpharmaceuticalreview.com ).

3. IoMT and therapies 4.0
The acronym IoMT (Internet of Medical Things) includes digital technologies and devices for the health and well-being of individuals.

From smartphone applications to wearable devices, to ingestible or implantable sensors under the skin. Another truly vast and rapidly expanding field, which we have already mentioned.

The consequence of all this is the improvement of therapeutic combinations , which are becoming faster (even in real time) and more reliable. Furthermore – and this is a truly central aspect – therapy is becoming increasingly personalized . A real turning point that takes the name of “ precision medicine ” (source: Medline Plus).

Furthermore, the combination of IoMT and Artificial Intelligence is – and will increasingly be – a formidable support for everything related to prevention : from tumor pathologies, to mental health or neurodegenerative motor problems.

Finally: not only prevention. Thanks to IoMT, in fact, it is possible to establish a more frequent and close interaction with the individual , who will thus be more inclined to monitor and possibly modify harmful behaviors and habits, in the short or long term.

4. The patient at the center: pharmacies and the new personalized digital communication
We started from factories 4.0, we moved on to the large numbers of Research & Development, then to IoMT and increasingly tailor-made therapies... and here we are finally closing the circle on individual people, individual patients .

Even in Pharma, the path must always be from digital to physical, from Big Data to relationships with individuals . And the first line of these relationships is constituted – without a doubt – by the pharmacies scattered throughout the territory. The application of artificial intelligence systems in the Pharma sector concerns, in an increasingly important way, also this network, so ramified and part of the daily habits of all of us.

Even in the “small world” of the pharmacy, the implications of AI are multiple and fundamental. There is the optimization of the pharmacist's work itself. The improvement of warehouse and order management. And above all, there is the attention to customer satisfaction . This last point, in particular, is decisive. And it translates into the need to support and integrate the traditional side with the digital one .