From cities under lockdown to the most affected areas, the coronavirus pandemic has undeniably shaken people’s lives around the globe. In this massive world response to Covid-19, the pharmaceutical industry is not an exception. The pandemic has exposed pharma’s strengths and weaknesses, unveiling a rather complex landscape.
The pharma and biotech industries have responded promptly to the Covid-19 challenge, utilising all their forces in the development of potential new drugs and the evaluation of possible utilization of the existing drugs. They have also speeded up the development of the most innovative vaccines and examined the potential of vaccines already available in clinical trials for other indications. Up to this point, 55 vaccines have been tested in clinical trials in humans and more than 87 vaccines are in the preclinical stage, while 13 trials have already reached the final stages of testing. But at the same time, the series of unprecedented challenges that the industry has been facing during this crisis is a clear sign that pharma is ripe for change and innovation.
But what exactly has Pharma learnt during this pandemic?
- For a very long time, the drug supply chain wasn’t exactly the first thing in the minds of Pharma. The industry was primarily focused on the discovery, development and marketing of new medicines. Covid-19 revealed that the system wasn’t at all prepared for this large-scale shift in demand. So far Pharma companies are doing their best to maintain their supply chain, manufacture and transport pharma goods quickly and safely to patients in need. But moving forward, the industry needs to invest in new, solid, well-established business continuity plans to ensure the continuity of supply in the future.
- Covid-19 highlighted the need for the industry to come together and form collaborations and partnerships, in order to leverage each other’s knowledge. In this race with time, the pharma companies very quickly mobilised their resources and partnered with other competitors, research centers and government agencies in order to develop together innovative treatments and vaccines against Covid-19. And it is truly astonishing to see what this united industry has accomplished in a very short period of time.
- The industry has been implementing digital technology for quite some years now, making deals with tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, moving slowly but steadily to a new digital era. Covid-19 came suddenly and accelerated the speed of this transition for a quite simple reason: It made Pharma realise that it still lacks a lot of the resources, power, and technology required to fight the virus quickly and most importantly, effectively
- Researchers are now using artificial intelligence (AI) to sift through large databases and existing literature, examining the similarities of well-studied diseases with the coronavirus, with the aim of repurposing already marketed drugs, or to design pioneering new drugs for Covid-19 and other indications. Novartis for example, has employed AI to compile 20 years of data from 2 million patients, in order to facilitate its drug development process.
- AI can also be useful in managing the large amount of data and contracts that pharmaceutical companies are using on a daily basis. Drug supply chains based on AI and smart data management will allow the industry to have better control over its resources, and companies will soon see a significant gain in speed, money and risk mitigation.
- Treatment of patients with chronic conditions has been also deeply affected by the pandemic. This will create a backlog requiring urgent measures as the crisis is coming to an end. AI tools will be necessary to manage the backlog effectively and companies will have to consider implementing these technologies in order to upgrade their treatment methods.
The advancements made to treat and prevent COVID-19 were massive, but so were the lessons learned from this crisis. When the world starts recovering, pharma should wonder what needs to be done to better leverage the collective wisdom gained during this period within the industry.
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https://www.agiloft.com/blog/three-lessons-learned-pharma-covid/
https://www.contractpharma.com/issues/2020-06-01/view_features/supply-chain-trends/
https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/comment/covid-19-pharmaceutical-companies-impact/
https://www.dw.com/en/will-coronavirus-pandemic-change-big-pharmas-long-term-focus/a-53807139