India Pharma Inc needs to arm itself with a forward-looking attitude, strategic roadmap, significant investments and meaningful collaborations to leverage the tremendous promise and potential of IIoT
By Lakshmipriya Nair
As Industry 4.0 plays out, remaining competitive in an increasingly complex market place has become an arduous task. Also, in this milieu, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is taking centre-stage, with a lot being discussed and written on this technology and its massive potential to enhance visibility, quality and productivity across the pharma value chain.
For instance, business leaders, Ajit Singh, Chairman, ACG and Dr Sanjit Singh Lamba, MD, Eisai Pharma India, emphasise how IIoT is now a prerequisite for continued success. Singh says, “IIoT will not only drive the next industrial revolution but also bring about the information revolution. It has the power to transform the pharma industry at a very rapid pace, the ability to transform everything we do, right from clinical trials and drug discovery to manufacturing, supply chain and remote monitoring of patients.”
Dr Lamba also points out that as the Pharmacy of the World, product quality and efficacy, regulatory compliance, operational efficiency etc. are some of the major objectives of the Indian Pharma Inc. With IIoT, we can empower equipment, people, environment and infrastructure to intelligently communicate with each other and achieve these goals.
However, the pharma industry hasn’t managed to leverage its power and capabilities completely. Express Pharma and ACG, hence, recently collaborated to organise a seminar on the theme, ‘Empowering Indian Pharma through IIoT’ to seek the answers to this conundrum. The event served as a platform for leaders and experts to outline how IIoT represents a compelling opportunity for the pharma industry to optimise efficiency and efficacy of its complex and critical operations, such as manufacturing and supply chain management.
This article is a summation of the inferences drawn and lessons learnt from the views, concerns and insights shared on this knowledge-sharing platform. And, we understand that success with IIoT will largely hinge on the following three factors:
A growth mindset
A clear message from the seminar was that it is high time that the pharma industry started looking at emerging technologies like IIoT as a fundamental aspect of their growth strategy. Antony Prashant, Partner – Strategy & Operations, Life-sciences Consulting Leader for Deloitte India, explains it very well. He highlights that until 2015-16, the overall EBIDTA margins have been around 28-30 per cent, but in 2019 these margins have come down to 20-22 per cent, registering a six per cent drop in EBIDTA margins, and 20 per cent reduction in profits in the industry. While admitting that there are several reasons for this situation, such as price pressures, reducing the period of exclusivity, growing focus on emerging markets etc., he informs that now the companies are trying to drive profitability by enhancing outputs from existing assets, optimising costs and collaborating better across the value chain. And, IIoT, with its ability to predict potential failures as well as provide end-to-end monitoring and visibility across the value chain, is one of the key enablers.
But, as Mathew Cherian, Head of Group of Sites for Asia, Sanofi highlights, the pharma sector’s fear of failure is impeding its ability to think differently, to take risks. These mindset barriers are hindering the adoption of IIoT and the subsequent benefits it can usher.
The other experts too reiterated this point of view and were emphatic that only by bringing about this mindset change at all levels, can pharma organisations accelerate their progress with smarter and faster business decisions. Tech expert, Faiyaz Engineer, Program Manager – Digitalisation and Analytics, ACG puts the point across very succinctly when he says, “Digitisation and automation are fuelling a tornado of change. Therefore, every team, every individual needs to be empowered to develop a digital mindset. Digital transformation begins from decentralisation of innovation. Everyone in your company has to be an innovator. It is not just about connecting machines but also people.”
Singh from ACG goes one step further and calls for a more revolutionary transformation. He opines that we should change even our education systems along with our management styles to evolve from a conservative and risk-averse industry into a more tech-savvy and innovation-driven one.
In-depth know-how and strategy
The life sciences industry has realised that they will inevitably have to move toward adoption of IIoT sooner or later to stay relevant and competitive. They understand that IIoT in pharma can usher more efficient production and quality control measures, improve data integrity, decrease the risk of machinery breakdowns/malfunctions with predictive and preventive maintenance, identify and respond to compliance issues instantly and assure precision production with real-time plant-floor visibility.
For instance, Milind Gujar, Chief Quality Officer (QA/QC), RPG Life Sciences explains how it is important to have control over all systems in your organisation to maintain high quality and the role of digital technologies and IIoT in doing so. He says, “Data generated through IIoT makes it easier to showcase your capabilities during audits and it clearly demonstrates that your product, your facility and your systems are compliant with regulatory guidelines. It also helps to keep your SOPs clear and rectify mistakes or deviations, if any.”
Similarly, Nihar Medh, Vice President & Global Procurement Head, Cipla extols the virtues of IIoT to enhance the pharma supply chain. He opines that pharma companies need to be more agile to ensure that their products reach the right person at the right time. And, adopting IIoT will help predict to build an intelligent supply chain which can predict problems, improve inventory management and procurement practice, and take appropriate actions at the right time to prevent any hassles or undesired outcomes.
Yet, a multitude of factors — including an insufficient understanding of the concept and lack of technological know-how — have been thwarting several life sciences companies, across the globe, from embarking to traversing this journey. Therefore, building the knowledge and capabilities to envision, design, implement, and maintain complex systems has emerged as a major imperative. The industry needs to boost its understanding to deal with issues of data security, skills shortages and legacy equipment and succeed in an IIoT era.
Therefore, experts recommend the sector to start small and look at early gains to build confidence and knowledge about the technology. Dr Lamba counsels, “Dream big, start small. Choose the most compelling applications to get a hang of the technology, scale fast and fail early. Run a proof of concept and make it more collaborative.”
Ashok Nayak, CIO, IPCA too offers similar advice. He states, “Start with small projects to improve predictive maintenance and asset management for early gains and build on these endeavours for continued accomplishments.” He also asks the industry to not get deterred from embarking on the IIoT journey due to cost factors. He advises, “Do not just look at the costs, but also the value it brings to you”. He explained that since these technologies usher improved compliance, quality controls and operational efficiencies, they are worth the risk – time and costs incurred.
Thus, most experts make a sound case for adoption of IIoT. But, at the same time, Engineer highlights that 60 per cent of IIoT initiatives fail during scale-up due to lack of clear metrics and a road map. Hence, his recommendation to pharma companies is to have an inclusive vision which outlines and motivates a workforce. Thus, while some might want to begin in a small way, for others it might make sense to make larger investments in the technology.
However, he clearly states that beginning the journey is the most important thing and it begins with shortlisting the goals to be achieved with IIoT and drawing up an elaborate plan to achieve them. He says, “Create a metrics of where you are currently in the IIoT journey and where you want to go since every pharma company is in a different place at it prepares and transitions for an IIoT-driven future. Identify your goals, prepare a roadmap and a business case.”
Effective implementation
As the world becomes increasingly connected, optimising business opportunities will be largely dependent on a company’s prowess in leveraging digital technologies like IIoT. And, as these technologies are very cost-intensive at this point of time, effective implementation is key. Hence, as experts mentioned in this article have already pointed out, applying specific business values such as addressing bottlenecks in manufacturing or the supply chain, redesigning workflows etc. will help in enabling quantifiable return on investments.
Another aspect of effective IIoT implementation is data management. Sanjay Nandavadekar, Director-IT, Cipla, explains, “Data itself will be a challenge. IIoT technologies will generate massive volumes of data from billions of intelligent devices. Imagine a situation where a single machine is producing 20,000 data points at a speed of 30 seconds. How are we going to manage it? Either we have to go for petabyte size of cloud which will be a very costly affair or we need to intelligently design our system to choose the right sets of data and help process it. So, effective implementation of IIoT also depends on not only the right systems but also the right processes.
Similarly, building a workforce which can leverage the potential of IIoT will be pivotal. Both companies and employees will have to look at reinventing themselves to navigate this dynamic landscape. As Medh informs, “We will need people to become smarter and smarter to optimise the opportunities. We will need a workforce which can contextualise the data generated and apply it for sustained progress.” In concurrence with this view, Prashant expounds that skill levels and competency levels will have to be completely redefined for the IIoT era. The roles of the workforce will change significantly. As these technologies come in, the entire ecosystem will change.
Enlarging on this point, Nandavadekar says, “HR and business leaders have a major role to play in building a labour force which is future-ready. They need to assure employees that they will be reskilled and trained to take up newer job roles and responsibilities and undertake initiatives to do the same.” He also informs that Cipla is already designing and adopting such measures. Cherian too says that Sanofi is looking at training its employees to deal with technological disruptions and changing times.
Likewise, a right partner can prove to be invaluable in deploying IIoT solutions by establishing proof of concept, acting as a deterrent to making the wrong investments, assisting in the integration of IIoT technologies with existing systems and providing customer service and support and tackling any concerns of data security.
Thus, selecting the apt partner for your IIoT journey is also a crucial aspect of implementing IIoT in the easiest and effective manner. To cite an example, Prabhakar Nair, COO, ACG Capsules, drawing from his experience of IIoT, presents a use case example, “There is a lot of buzz around out of specifications (OOS) results and the inability to respond with accurate and objective data. Often, the batch record is unable to reflect what exactly happened at that moment in time. Then, it is all based on mere speculation as to what happened. So, in pharma, IIoT can help gain the exact data and utilise to zero-in on the exact cause of the exact problem. This would also help to satisfy the regulators as to why you are validating or invalidating an OOS.” Such insights will definitely help the pharma industry choose the right IIoT solutions for the right purposes.
Embracing an IIoT-future
Thus, implementing IIoT in the best way possible is actually a multi-faceted and multi-disciplinary venture. But, this convergence of industrial processes and information technology will make equipment, people and processes smarter. Fortunately, though the industry is still at a nascent stage of IIoT adoption, there is an increasing understanding about its impact. The growing realisation that embracing IIoT might not be a choice but a necessity for continual improvement and incessant progress in the life sciences industry is spiking the level of interest and investments in these technologies. It is to be hoped that India Pharma Inc will successfully convert the tremendous promise of IIoT into reality in the times to come.
As experts advise, in one of the most transformational times, we have to ask ourselves a crucial question — are you driving change or are you being driven by it?
Interesting stats on IIoT
- The IIoT market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 24.4% during the forecast period 2018–2023. APAC is projected to be the fastest-growing market in the geography segment.
– Source: IndustryArc Analysis Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market – Forecast (2019 – 2024) - 64% of Indian organisations have made substantial investments in IoT.
– Source: 8th Digital IQ Survey - Industrial IoT is expected to surpass the consumer IoT space in India by 2020. It also predicts a $12 billion IoT opportunity. The market potential of the Internet of Things in India alone is expected to reach USD 9 billion by 2020. With this, the IoT units in India can also see a rapid growth of 31 times to reach 1.9 billion by 2020.
– Source: IAMAI and Deloitte report
Ten rules for Pharma Leadership
- Design a digital vision & strategy
- Challenge the old ways of thinking
- Ensure buy-in across the organisation
- Build capabilities of the workforce
- Empower people to think in new ways
- Hire right and digital savvy leaders
- Key to success in leadership commitment
- Foster a sense of urgency for digital changes
- Encourage experiment with new ideas
- Adopt new standard operating procedures
– Presented by Faiyaz Engineer, Program Manager-Digitalization and Analytics
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