Cloud computing is the game changer for the life sciences industry. Globally pharma majors are deploying cloud technology because it provides data security, compliance and transparency, according to Vikram Anand, associate vice president, Cloud-based technology & product delivery services, ArisGlobal.

“Cloud is changing the way we deploy technology. Eli Lily uses cloud services for research and development efforts. GSK has chosen to replace its existing Lotus Notes, Domino, and Postini services for its 96,500 employees worldwide, with everything being hosted on the Cloud. Roche uses pre-clinical SaaS solution to consolidate several key application areas and harmonize all its  sites worldwide,” he said.

The benefits of moving to the Cloud computing is the on-demand delivery of information technology (IT) resources via the Internet with ‘pay-as-you-go’ pricing. It allows enhanced collaboration, lower upfront investment, provides increased return on investment and greater flexibility and faster scale up of operations.

For over six years, ArisGlobal has been offering the validated Cloud computing, meeting all requirements specific to life sciences industry. Over 100 life sciences customers on the Cloud and the hosted set-ups aligned with regulatory changes  have been successfully audited by regulatory agencies. These cover J&J, AstraZeneca, Alcon and Bausch and Lomb, said Anand at the 6th Regulatory Conference organised by the Drug Information Association (DIA) India.

The three Cloud Deployment Models are: Private cloud which provides hosted services to a limited number of people behind a firewall. Public cloud which is a service provider makes resources such as applications and storage available to the general public over the Internet, could be free or offered on a pay-per-usage model. The Hybrid Cloud which is a composition of at least one private cloud + one public cloud.

Cloud computing drastically lowers the total cost of ownership, improves collaboration, operational efficiency and speeds up the R&D processes. Security of data on the Cloud is better than in-house systems. Data on the Cloud is secure and compliant, he added.

Further, the Cloud-based services need to meet all the compliance and data security requirements by including a number of certifications from international authorities to make certain that customers stay compliant with the international standards and to eliminate or minimize the impact of various security- related threats and vulnerabilities affecting services.

In the current stringent regulatory environment, Cloud computing ensures EVMPD (EudraVigilance Medicinal Product Dictionary) compliance. Presently, the European drug manufacturers needed a system to report EVMPD data to EMA. The company’s pre-validated system and cloud set up has helped integrate with health authorities successfully, with a quick turnaround time. ArisGlobal was the only vendor ready for electronic submission. Therefore the strategy for pharma companies would be to build their own ecosystem on the Cloud with a software and required infrastructure, said Anand.