Indian pharma industry is poised to play a key role in automating its plants and labs by treading the digital technology path, stated experts at the PharmaNext 2018 conclave.
Even as the Industry 4.0 is taking the centre-stage for the pharma industry , experts highlighted the key positives and the negatives. Big data analytics to cloud computing and Internet of Things are among the innovations that are beginning to spur the drug research and manufacture landscape, they added.
At a two-day PharmaNext 2018 national symposium organised by the International Society for Automation (ISA)-Bangalore Chapter on Automation and Digital transformation of Pharma and Life Sciences industry held on May 25 and 26, 2018 at the NIMHANS convention centre in Bengaluru, leading professionals deliberated on the efficiency and agility needed to spur next-generation technologies to streamline their business processes.
Ram V Kerur, president, ISA Bangalore chapter and COO-Director, Sunlux Technovations in his introductory marks stated that it is now time to advance skills with the new world technologies like the Industry 4.0, Internet of Things and digitalisation. We have taken this focus as the industry is making efforts to implement digital initiatives.
The industry needed to achieve real-time transparency in production plant and seamless operations in the supply chain to meet the expectations of efficiency from their customers and patients. The panel of experts who were heads of pharma and information technology sectors were also concerned about the data security. Stating that reliability and stability were needed but difficult to achieve and maintain, the experts lauded the need for integrity of the production process.
While Industry 4.0 emerged as the catch word in most presentations, the experts also pointed out that Internet of Things, communicating with both the man and machine in real time via the wireless web is becoming the norm. USFDA has already issued the latest guideline on Automation and Digital Technology in April 2018.
Topics from Pharma industry 4.0, driving operational excellence, regulatory best practices and compliance digitalisation framework, batch to continuous pharma manufacturing, process analytical and instrumentation systems, compliance in a smart factory, digitalisation and cyber security provided a pharmaceutical end-user perspective.