By- Sajiv Nath, MD-Yokogawa India
Our future achievement is directly proportional to our ability to understand the need of the hour, adapt, transform, and integrate new technology at all levels. Some of the industries looking at transformation are pharma, oil & gas, energy, and COVID-19 has been a driver for change.
India Brand Equity’s recent report states that the Indian pharmaceutical sector supplies over 50% of global demand for various vaccines, 40% of generic demand in the US and 25% of all medicine in the UK. India is the largest provider of generic drugs globally. According to the Indian Economic Survey 2021, the domestic market is expected to grow 3x in the next decade. India’s domestic pharmaceutical market is estimated at US$ 42 billion in 2021 and likely to reach US$ 65 billion by 2024 and further expand to reach ~US$ 120-130 billion by 2030. Globally, India ranks 3rd in terms of pharmaceutical production by volume and 14th by value. The domestic pharmaceutical industry includes a network of 3,000 drug companies and ~10,500 manufacturing units. Pharmaceutical companies’ investments are increasing in R&D and are striving to implement advanced technology, which will help them reduce time to market & improve the quality of products. This technology shift will allow them to boost their efficiency and increase their exports
So do we have a chance to move to the number one position?
Transformation is an influential hug-effect on every aspect of our lives, including various day-to-day activities. In hindsight, there is a lot to be achieved in healthcare and medicine, especially in the developing countries of the Asia Pacific region. In a business and social environment ruled by high volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA), manufacturers in process industries need to embrace emerging digital technologies to transform operations, control costs, reduce downtime, enhance the safety of operation and improve profitability/.
Currently, the COVID-19 pandemic is globally impacting most socio-economic factors. This unprecedented turmoil has significantly impacted the healthcare industry and even more in developing nations like India. The pandemic has highlighted the lack and loopholes present in the existing healthcare infrastructure of developing countries. At present, healthcare experts are trying to identify ways to predict, identify and prepare for similar future challenges. Pharmaceutical companies in the process industries need to set smart manufacturing goals with digital technology. This will enhance the safety and profitability, and “go-to-market” speed of new medicines. For many end-users, including the healthcare industries, autonomous operations are the destination to achieve their smart manufacturing goals with the power of cognition of machines and minimum human intervention. Thus, eliminating the chance of human error and the chance of disruption when human beings can’t or won’t be able to reach it. Human resources will be utilized for more qualitative and safer actions.
The manufacturing process in this industry has witnessed unprecedented demand but still seems to lack 360-degree transformation. The supply versus the need faces a considerable gap. The industry needs to look at Industry /Pharma 4.0 as the next move to fill this gap and save lives.
I believe India has a chance to be in the number one position and needs to adapt to change, transform, and improve the pharma production infrastructure.
The need for technology-aided medical devices and care is evident to tackle the ongoing and future crises. Artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are slowly driving innovation in the healthcare domain and transforming towards Industrial Autonomy from the current level of automation. AI, ML and Blockchain have the power to solve the challenges of quality, accessibility, affordability, and the doctor-to-patient ratio.
Let us look at and understand how these technologies are expected to change the healthcare sector.
AI and ML in Healthcare
Machine learning and Artificial Intelligence are currently helping in disease prevention and diagnosis, help develop customized drugs based on an individual’s unique DNA, extract more meaning from data across various clinical trials, and advise multiple treatment options.
For the ongoing COVID pandemic, AI and ML technologies contribute to screening, predicting, forecasting, and contact tracing along with drug/vaccination development. In December 2019, an AI bot called blue dot scans hundreds and thousands of foreign-language news reports, animal and plant disease networks and other reputable sources that have detected a cluster of pneumonia-like illnesses in Wuhan, China. This system alerted the Blue Dots experts, who identified it parallel to the deadly SARS outbreak in 2003. Even before the scientists could figure out other details, the bot had already predicted the upcoming peril.
Similarly, AI is being used in many incidents,
- AI-powered drones monitor whether citizens abide by government rules or not.
- AI-empowered chatbots are being to be used by hospitals to help initial screening of patients.
- Manage and analyze the numerous CT scan reports.
Healthcare workers throughout the globe are struggling today. They face unprecedented workloads and stress, and they are exhausted. The use of Robots as frontline health workers is a reasonable solution to address these concerns. Health workers today are succumbing to Coronavirus infection due to the increased exposure with affected patients daily. This can be solved using robots as frontline workers; not only will this reduce the interaction between doctor and patient, but it will also provide accurate diagnosis and medication.
Blockchain in Healthcare
Among the various gaps highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic, the lack of managed, trustable, and accurate data was of prime concern. The data retrieved from public hospitals and clinical laboratories are not always accurate. Blockchain will play a vital role in tracking the spread of Coronavirus, identifying high-risk patients, controlling the spread of infection in real-time, and capturing data that can be further shared within various public networks for accurate information. Blockchain technology will be instrumental in recording patient records, symptoms, locations, and patient history and maintaining privacy.
With blockchain technology, patient history, ledger records, symptoms, sample test results, treatment status, and discharge summary are recorded and maintained for government sites. This data is critical for nations to identify the exact red zones, and high-risk patients, track vaccination and take necessary actions.
At present, technology is used to combat the COVID-19 pandemic by providing improved solutions, user privacy protection, outbreak tracking, the performance of the medical supply chain, and monitoring daily operations.
The demand and use of telemedicine applications, online booking of appointments, teleconsultation, online medical support, intelligent diagnosis, intelligent devices, and wearable medical equipment are evident across nations. In developing countries like India, the need for adopting technology in the healthcare domain is immense. It is time for both government and private setups to concentrate on technology solutions in the healthcare domain. Innovation and implementation of technology will help the nation stay ahead and future challenges.
How will industrial Autonomous to Industrial Autonomy (IA2IA) work?
The industry will take time to embrace change as it needs to change the present mindset. However, the benefits of such change are so huge that one cannot ignore it but only to its peril. Some of the benefits of these transformations will be:
- Effective utilization of Infrastructure. Wastage that happens now can be used to enhance infrastructure further
- Lower Manufacturing Cost
- Making the processes future-ready for healthcare any crisis
- Updating plants to international standards
- Advanced R & D and manufacturing infrastructure
- Seamless knowledge & information sharing
- Build healthcare equalities and apply it to building back better
- Make medicines affordable
Industry 4.0 /Pharma 4.0 will ensure public health leadership and workforces will be aligned with the demand and change. The new edge Autonomous processes will support the healthcare system’s response in times of emergency, including last-mile distribution of medical countermeasures.
