How can blockchain add value to the pharmaceutical industry?
How can blockchain add value to the pharmaceutical industry
Blockchain technology, which has become increasingly used in recent years, has a disruptive potential for many sectors. After the COVID-19 outbreak, it became clear that the pharmaceutical industry, in particular, needed a technology such as blockchain for its global supply chain.
Blockchain technology can be defined as a distributed and decentralized digital ledger of transactions that records data in a way that prevents data loss and manipulation. Although many people initially consider blockchain as the infrastructure of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the technology promises much more than that.
Statistics show that worldwide spending on blockchain solutions is expected to grow from $1.5 billion in 2018 to $5.9 billion in 2023. Data shows that the financial sector accounted for more than 60 percent of blockchain market value globally in 2018, and the technology is spreading into nearly every sector, from healthcare to agriculture.
Why did the pharmaceutical industry set its sights on blockchain?
In the early days of the epidemic, with production halting on a large scale, especially in China, the healthcare industry realized the urgency of improving the global supply chain. Supply chains around the world began to collapse as borders closed. Then the workforce dwindled and suddenly there was an international unmet demand for goods and services that did not exist.
Blockchain as a technology is critical as it provides traceability across product lifecycles by correlating, disseminating, and distributing data securely across the organization. It's especially important for highly regulated industries like pharmaceuticals. The industry needs transparency on points such as clinical trials, supply chain control, product validation and quality control before a product is commercialized. Blockchain can also come into play at this point and provide a great benefit to the industry.
Therefore, given the technology's ability to enable safe, transparent and fast transactions around the world, most efforts to leverage its capabilities in the pharmaceutical industry are focused on improving the supply chain. Already three of the largest pharmaceutical companies – Pfizer, Amgen and Sanofi – are working side by side to find the most effective ways to use blockchain technology, from storing secure data to speeding up clinical trials and ultimately reducing drug development costs.
Beyond COVID-19 and vaccines, technology can also be used to further increase the privacy of information in clinical trials. This will lead to people having the confidence to provide more information.
This could also lead to shorter cycles for drug development and discovery. A BioMed Central report touches on how reproducibility of clinical research studies has been an issue for quite some time, and how using blockchain technology can combine privacy with secure, decentralized tracking of all data.
1. **Supply Chain Improvements**:
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become clear that the pharmaceutical industry needs a technology such as blockchain for its global supply chain. Blockchain provides traceability across product lifecycles by correlating, disseminating, and distributing data securely across the organization. This means that most efforts to leverage capabilities in the pharmaceutical industry are focused on improving the supply chain
2. **Data Security and Transparency**:
Blockchain technology can be defined as a distributed and decentralized digital ledger of transactions that records data in a way that prevents data loss and manipulation. The pharmaceutical industry needs transparency on aspects such as clinical trials, supply chain control, product validation and quality control before a product is commercialized. Blockchain can come into play at this point and provide great benefit to the industry.
3. **Clinical Studies**:
Blockchain technology can also be used to further increase the privacy of information in clinical trials. This will lead to people having the confidence to provide more information. This could also lead to shorter cycles for drug development and discovery.
4. **Reducing Drug Development Costs**:
Three of the largest pharmaceutical companies – Pfizer, Amgen and Sanofi – are working side by side to find the most effective ways to use blockchain technology, from storing secure data to accelerating clinical trials and ultimately reducing drug development costs
For these reasons, blockchain technology can add great value to the pharmaceutical industry.
More examples of value that blockchain technology can bring to the pharmaceutical industry:
1. **Electronic Health Records**:
Keeping patients' health records is one of the biggest challenges in the healthcare industry
. A blockchain network can be used to ensure the integrity of all medical records. Once a patient's data is transferred to the blockchain, it can remain there forever². This way, doctors and medical staff can easily access verified information, that patient's health record and previous treatment data.
2. **Patient-Specific Medicines**:
Pharmaceutical companies can access a patient's data stored on the blockchain to make patient-specific medications.
3. **Pharmaceutical Supply Chain**:
According to a report by the Stanford Graduate School of Business, the pharmaceutical supply chain is the most used blockchain application in the healthcare industry.
4. **COVID-19 Electronic Screening Tool**:
VitalHub, a Canada-based blockchain company, has deployed a blockchain-based COVID-19 electronic screening tool called DOCit.
5. **Certificate Verification and Supply Chain Tracking Solutions**:
Many certificate verification and supply chain tracking solutions have been announced to combat COVID-19
.
These examples show how blockchain technology can add value to the pharmaceutical industry. This technology has the potential to solve many challenges facing the industry.
