The Indian pharmaceutical market has grown at a phenomenal rate over the last couple of years making its presence felt in the international market. With a huge domestic growth potential and an appetite to grab a larger portion of the global market which is poised to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 6.5 per cent  during 2011 to 2013, according to a research by RNCOS Indian companies are looking at automation as the way forward.

The Indian pharmaceutical companies today are considering factory automation not only to reduce cost but also to meet domestic regulatory compliance, curtail counterfeiting of vital drugs and meet the stringent international standards for export consignments. The increasing competition from domestic as well as global players in countries like China and a pressure to boost operational profitability has resulted in the adoption of various types of automation such as machine vision system, ID Readers, robotic arms and deployment of smart IT software programmes to monitor the production process.

Advanced sensing technologies such as machine vision systems are today standard features in most pharmaceutical companies in developed countries. A machine vision system can match the capabilities of multiple sensors that are able to give quantitative and qualitative data about the product being manufactured. These systems provide effective and reliable feedback which allows specific robotic tools to adapt to the changing environment and track production progress. Modern factory automation employs this type of sensing technology to deliver better reliability, accuracy and speed. While vision systems can add financial costs to an automation solution, the benefits overcome the cost of implementation in the long run providing more enhanced machine efficiency.

Challenges in implementing automation
The pharmaceutical industry is today passing through a transition phase from a supply-driven market to a demand as well as a service driven market, where operational efficiency will play a key role in the global dominance of Indian pharmaceutical companies. Moreover with the recent mandate released by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade of India stipulating compulsory barcoding on export consignment of medicines, automation will now be an imperative tool even for SMEs operating in this sector.

Though this new law was going to come into effect from  July 1, given the technical and financial constraints of implementing this new mechanism and pressure from local drug manufactures in India,  the deadline has now been postponed to October 1. According to this new regulation while primary-level packs will see incorporation of 2D bar codes (Data Matrix symbol) on medicines at strip, vial and bottle encoding of unique product identification code, batch number, expiry date and serial number, similar details will be displayed on the secondary and tertiary (shipper or carton) using 1D or 2D barcodes.

This vital information saved in the bar code can help regulators track medical consignment to the country of origin and have access to valuable information. Unlike barcodes, Data Matrix symbols can be applied directly onto the product, or to the packaging box itself. It can also be read in any orientation and can contain alphanumeric information rather than just numbers, removing the need for a 'look up table' of product numbers. This move has faced a lot of resistance from manufacturers because they will now be required to add various automation components to their existing machinery setup which will drive up operational cost making Indian products less competitive as compared to products from China and Malaysia.

Traditional approach of deploying turnkey serialization solutions to meet the new regulation using integrate PC-based vision can be expensive to install, validate and maintain. That’s why pharmaceutical manufacturers are increasingly opting for networked smart camera vision systems over PC-based inspection systems.  Compared to PC-based systems, smart camera vision systems are generally easier to configure, validate, and maintain. Because they are solid state, smart camera vision systems intrinsically provide a more stable platform than Microsoft® Windows®-based alternatives, requiring less maintenance and fewer service pack updates and patches to install.

 At the machine level, which includes packaging equipment, material handling, machine controls, ID readers and vision systems, Windows-based PCs are often unnecessarily costly to install and complex to validate when compared to smart camera vision systems. Moreover being configurable, rather than programmable, smart camera vision systems can also make it easier for manufacturers to accommodate future changes in regulations and standards.

 In today’s modern pharma factories , the most advanced of these smart camera vision systems now offer advanced networking, communication capabilities and powerful factory integration tools. And with a standard operator interface for a common look and feel across all packaging lines and inspection points, many pharmaceutical manufacturers now consider smart camera vision systems an indispensable tool in their manufacturing process.

On a broader note although implementing the GS1 barcoding standards would put additional pressure on the manufacturing cost and Indian companies could lose out on the cost competitive edge to other developing countries , industry experts believe that this measure is warranted owing to the serious counterfeiting threats faced by the pharmaceutical sector especially in India.

Conclusion
In the long run , factory automation will be an important component in the entire manufacturing process. SMEs as well as large enterprises operating in India’s pharmaceutical sector will find it a necessity to implement automation at certain level in their production process. While Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers have performed well so far in adding production capacities and building economies of scale, it is time to evaluate how local corporates can further leverage automation technologies to establish their global footprint in international competitive markets.