Justin Eames, senior manager, APM Solution Consulting, Aspen Technology Inc, explains why moving away from siloed structures is key to helping make pharma digitalisation a commercial reality.
Digital transformation
Collaboration and communication can be stifled by siloed working practices that are prevalent in so many large pharmaceutical companies. Strict hierarchies mean data scientists have little interaction with maintenance and technical teams or C-Level decision-makers. As a result, many innovative ideas never make it to market.
Businesses are often reluctant to take on new technology evaluations which could achieve a more rapid time to value, anxious that they might affect validation status in their often complex and long-established validation processes. While Many large global pharmaceuticals businesses are innovative in new drug development, they are less innovative in manufacturing, relying on existing expertise and processes. Being less receptive to disruptive digital innovation means they can often miss out on efficiency-boosting initiatives and other benefits.