Four Promising Developments in Contract Manufacturing

early analysis and predictions, lab data, and regulatory documentation, to test results and even the booklet that comes with a box of pills from the pharmacy — and both automate its creation, and ensure that it’s of high quality, using AI capabilities.”

Real-time, remote tracing

Pharmaceutical firms audit or supervise their Contract Manufacturer’s manufacturing & delivery process conventionally, in order to monitor the manufacturing process. But product conditions can now be checked remotely as CMs now innovate their procedures.

This kind of real-time tracing is made feasible by the Internet of Things, and this allows firms present in the pharmaceutical supply chain to share data as well as respond quickly to any issues/events. Therefore, the pharmaceutical sector will be able to oversee the production process & supply chain as well as orchestrate outcomes more accurately.

Secured channels for supply chains

Apart from the various benefits, electronic communications offer, it may even pose risks to the future of contract manufacturing. For instance, a patented vaccine formula can be stolen if the formula is sent through unsecured channels or if the online database gets hacked. Hence, to safeguard important data, serialization laws are already in place. 3rd party manufacturers use systems which protect the blueprints of production as well as sensitive information from malicious entities. And this brings us to the next development in contract manufacturing which is the use of blockchain.

Catalent partners to optimize product development, launch, and full life-cycle supply for patients around the world. Being a global leader in enabling pharma, biotech & consumer health the company’s direct-to-patient services facilitate clinical supplies to be delivered to patients’ addresses directly & this can help support decentralized clinical trials. Through its STP services, supplies are delivered directly to the clinical sites that receive, store & dispense the patient kits to their addresses as needed.

Blockchain – a huge business asset in the pharma industry

By introducing blockchain as well as other cybersecurity mechanisms contract manufacturing models are making technological features today. Blockchain is proving to be a huge business asset in the pharmaceutical sector owing to its far-reaching applications. All of these are protected by revolutionary cryptography technology.

By leveraging blockchain’s ledger system, enterprises in the pharmaceutical supply chain including the Contract Manufacturers & pharmaceuticals firms will be capable of scanning as well as recording barcodes every step of the way, and this will help in creating an audit trail which can be easily tracked by all stakeholders who are involved. Similarly, blockchain can also be used for incorporating sensors into the supply chain as factors such as temperature & humidity can be recorded in the ledger system which is highly important for temperature-sensitive medicines such as insulin.

Novartis is experimenting with blockchain intending to identify counterfeit medicines as well as track temperature with real-time visibility for all stakeholders present in the supply chain. The company is using Blockchain & Internet of Things to achieve this. Currently, Novartis is engaged in building a consortium blockchain network called the “Innovative Medicine Initiative (IMI) Blockchain Enabled Healthcare program” between the European pharmaceutical industry and the EU.

The road ahead

The Contract Manufacturing market size is anticipated to reach USD 188.07 billion by 2026. The rising need for launching products earlier, numerous benefits which are rendered by Contract Manufacturing Organizations such as decreased timelines & high-quality products at lesser & price increasing pricing pressure are predicted to fuel the market growth.