The Future of the Global Pharma Marketplace

Building a transparent pharma marketplace is a challenge. The entire supply chain process in pharma is complex, and pharma teams need to differentiate their business from all others on the market. The latest innovations from companies such as the new pharma-centric marketplace Trade Pharma Network can help them do this. While some pharmacies rely on age-old technologies, savvy pharma teams should invest in artificial intelligence (AI), the blockchain, 3D-printed drugs and the Internet of Things (IoT). The result? They can attract more people to their marketplace and outrank their competitors.

AI

AI in the pharmaceutical industry is evolving at lightning speed. More pharma companies are using this technology to automate many of the mundane tasks they no longer have the time (or the resources) to complete themselves. It's no wonder, then, that experts predict AI in the pharma & healthcare sector to grow by 40 percent between 2017 and 2024.

Pharma companies are able now to anticipate the expansion of their AI related activities into machine learning in order to have predictive supply level information thereby reducing waste through expired or non-use in a particular territory, improving ‘just in time’ supply chain, and to find the most efficient routes to market.

This technology is also used in R&D and helps (pharma teams) researchers select the right drug candidates, for example.

"More and more pharma companies now reach out to AI-driven drug discovery startups to access expertise and tools to create promising drug candidates based on existing hypotheses and experience," says Andrii Buvailo, writing for the Forbes Technology Council.

Blockchain

Experts predict the global blockchain market will reach $339.5 billion by the year 2021, and it's sectors like the pharmaceutical industry that are fueling this massive growth.

Blockchain can provide pharma teams with a host of benefits. They can track pharma products as they move through the supply chain, for example, and optimize inventory management.

"It's important to provide a strong foundation of trustworthiness and safe practices for all patients and the community as a whole," says Gunjan Bhardwaj, writing for Pharmaphorum. "Blockchain integrates these values by generating informative, real-time responses to events potentially impacting patient health, such as life-saving prescription medication debuts and product recalls."

IoT

Any successful pharma company relies on big data to optimize workflows and improve supply chain management. This is where IoT comes in. Pharma companies who use this technology, alongside big data and AI & machin learning, can predict future trends and identify problems in the supply chain before they have an impact on their business. Thus, IoT enables them to have access to the latest business insights in real time, so they can solve issues and standardize day-to-day tasks.

Experts predict that IoT tech in the pharma sector will be worth $2.2 billion by the year 2020.

3D-Printed Drugs

The first 3D-printed drug gained approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) back in 2015, and since then, (pharma) biotech companies have been using the latest 3D technology to customize medicine and reduce patient wait times.

While patients can't print off their medications at home just yet, the future looks positive. This technology could solve many of the pain points that patients experience.

"The technology allows tablets to be precisely printed in shapes, sizes, and textures which are difficult to produce using traditional production techniques," says the Pharma Times.

Creating a new pharma business lets clinics and healthcare professionals bring more products to market and develop better health outcomes. Competition is fierce, however. That's why pharma teams should invest in the technologies on this list if they want to experience growth and attract more patients.