Across many manufacturing sectors, the use of technology has resulted in them revolutionizing. However, for pharmaceutical manufacturers, they have only just begun to see the potential in it for innovative product creation. The potential benefits that technology bring are vast for healthcare, and revolutionary techniques, which are clearing the way for a cost-effective, efficient, and tailored approach to medicinal production.
One study conducted by The London School of Economics and Political Science, suggests that the cost of bringing a new drug to market is upwards of $985 million. This is then reflected in the cost paid by insurance companies and end-users. Therefore, it’s essential for the sector to accelerate the use of technology which will help drive down these costs, while innovation is key. Here we look at the technology which is allowing pharmaceutical manufacturing to be revolutionized.
Building on 3D printing in Medicine
Despite medicine not being a stranger to the marvel of 3D printing, pharmaceutical manufacturing is yet to bandwagon. 3D-printed teeth and prosthetics are already commonly used in the health industry to assist patients. However, there is a distinct lack of approved 3D-printed pharma products in the US marketplace.
Medicines can be produced via 3D printing. This brings interesting benefits, including being able to uniquely tailor to a specific patient’s requirements.
In the US, FDA approved the first medicine that had been produced by 3D printing in 2015. The precision of the machine allowed manufacturers to create a pill with a high drug load. In one dose, patients were now able to receive 1,000 milligrams of levetiracetam. This was a revolutionary treatment for sufferers of epileptic seizures. However, since then, there has been limited progress which may be due to the high cost of this method.
While it would be ideal for your local pharmacy to have a 3D printer, the focus of additive pharmaceutical manufacturing is to drive the industry towards a future where everyone’s ailments can be individually tackled.
Increase Automation
The pharmaceutical industry looks out of box for inspiration when innovating. Of course, automation has played a large part in manufacturing for near to a century. For example, in vehicle manufacturing, automation is used to reduce costs and better perform intricate tasks. Now, pharma businesses are looking to do just the same.
In the past, scientists have become constrained by the manual task of individual genome testing. However, automation is allowing manufacturers to access a huge amount of data, enabling them to create unique molecular profiles of their customers and provide them with the best care.
Of course, having technology in the workplace there must be safety precautions taken, especially when working with medicine. The use of electrical enclosure boxes ensures that operators are safe when dealing with electrical machinery and that the stringent sanitation practices are maintained.
Machine learning educates us
Many sectors now have adopted Artificial intelligence. In general manufacturing, it can collate data and calculate the most efficient processes. This then allows it to create products and optimize the entire process. In pharmaceutical manufacturing, the process of medicinal engineering can be improved through digital reform.
Machine learning can compare individual profiles and medicine effectiveness if it’s given access to patient data. By doing this, manufacturers can adapt their medicines to create improved predictions on the demand of medicines and their effectiveness. This can allow pharmacists to prioritize medicines and amend their ingredients for maximum effect. This has a general benefit to everyone.
The technology can even be utilized to simulate real experiments. By predicting the outcomes of experiments, technology will be able to predict which medicines are the most effective. It can also note which projects pharmaceutical manufacturers should pursue, and they may even calculate cost and source ingredients for completing these tasks.
Medicine is constantly evolving and we’re constantly producing new drugs for a variety of illnesses. The innovation of technology in pharmaceutical engineering is allowing for individually tailored drugs to be produced for customers who require special attention while driving down the costs of production. Equally, the attention and precision of technology including machine learning and automation are allowing for more accurate medicines to be created for the benefit of everyone.
