The Human Side Of Pharma 4.0

By Lisa J. Graham, Ph.D., P.E., Vice President of Analytics Engineering, Seeq

With patient health and safety on the line, it is not uncommon for any promising technology or solution aimed at delivering added efficiency and safety to drug development and manufacturing to gain the attention of pharma’s subject matter experts (SMEs). Intellectual analysis combined with justified skepticism help vet each one to determine how far these movements and their buzzwords make it into our strategies as well as our lexicon. Some become innovative movements that transform how we do business, and others fall to the wayside, waiting on missing pieces of the puzzle to bring them to fruition.

Pharma 4.0 ― the industrial revolution fueled by digitization and automation ― is one such movement that has garnered considerable attention across the industry, particularly for its ability to create new levels of transparency that will facilitate better and faster decision-making. Conferences, articles, and conversations focus on the best and most efficient way to prepare for this next phase of manufacturing. Often, the tone is that Pharma 4.0 is on its way and we must be ready. However, when you consider the pace at which data and automation has moved into today’s facilities and the impact they have had on how we view and use information, there is proof that Pharma 4.0 isn’t coming ― it’s here. Therefore, the time to talk about what you would do to prepare is over, and the question is whether you are prepared now.