By Pharm. Oluwole Raphael Odumbo
Pharma 4.0 is the pharmaceutical industry’s adaptation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It refers to the digital transformation of pharmaceutical manufacturing, quality systems, and supply chains using advanced technologies to make processes more connected, automated, intelligent, and patient-centric. Pharma 4.0 is reshaping pharmaceutical supply chains to improve the prediction of bottlenecks and enable faster decision making and automated stock replenishment.
The key pillars of pharma 4.0 are internet of things (IOT), control tower technology, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, digital twins, and blockchain.
Internet of Things (IoT) has become an important tool offering real-time visibility and the ability to track variables relating to the shipment of medication, such as location, temperature and light. Sensors such as radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags passively gather data, providing near real-time information on where shipments are located and environmental conditions.
Control tower technology has been particularly useful for the distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations, as well as gathering information on the temperature and location of the goods as they travel. Control towers act as a central hub, similar to an airport control tower, gathering data in real time from multiple sources, feeding this into a database and providing a readable end-to-end view of events. Just as an effective airport control tower does not just track flight paths but also keeps passengers safe by ensuring flights stick to schedule and do not collide, the pharma control tower keeps track of the pharmaceutical supply chain and ensures products reach patients on time and intact.
As methods of gathering data improve, the amount of data available is growing rapidly, reaching quantities that are beyond the scope of human operators to properly process and analyse. AI, in combination with machine learning (ML), is a powerful tool that can be harnessed to automate data analysis, making connections instantaneously and suggesting courses of action that optimise quality and efficiency.
AI applications can conduct scenario modelling to predict events that might negatively impact the supply chain, such as weather events or transportation bottlenecks, and immediately find ways to resolve these challenges. It can be utilised to predict fluctuations in demand and adjust distribution accordingly. Implementing AI can improve transparency across the supply chain too, enabling more informed decision-making on everything from business performance to carbon emissions. It has the potential to greatly improve the agility of the supply chain, strengthening its resilience to any disruptions or challenges.
Augmented Reality is a useful tool for warehouse operatives, providing additional information to the user by overlaying data onto real-world elements via a pair of 3D glasses. It can be used to provide transportation instructions to operators scanning packages, or important regulatory information for the destination country. AR can also be a useful tool to monitor stock inventory, issuing alerts when supplies are dwindling before they run out and therefore avoiding downtime
Digital twin technology can enhance predictive modelling and enhance visibility. By creating a virtual replica or “twin” of a medicinal product, operatives can use real world data to create simulations that help them predict how they will react in certain scenarios, for instances changes to temperature. Parameters such as weight, materials and shipping date are fed into the digital twin and then monitored. Businesses can then make predictions based on the results and plan ahead of time for potential problems.
Blockchain is being hailed as the game changer due to its ability to improve the visibility of lengthy, complex supply chains. With a block chain, data related to each stakeholder, and each stage of the chain is stored in a “block” which cannot be altered, so that information from the source, including the manufacturer, packaging plant and distribution warehouse is stored securely, all the way through to the end destination, avoiding the risk of counterfeit medicines entering the chain.
