Trends Shaping the Future of Pharmaceuticals

How Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are Offering Impact

By Nagesh Jadhav, Director, Digital Transformation and Innovation HCLS

The deluge of data and information from the 4P's (Pharmaceuticals, Payers, Providers and Patients) and the next wave of digital disruption driven by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning will impact and shape the future of Pharmaceuticals and Biopharmaceuticals.

Upcoming Trends

1. Pharmaceuticals will be incorporating Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Drug Discovery. Large-scale, genomics, protein structures, and pathway data sets can be processed through trained AI and recursive training methods to get insights, information, and patterns, and identify potential and multiple targets with minimal manual intervention, much faster and more accurately. AI can search patents, thousands of publications, and social media data to derive information for research and development. Some startups are Atomwise, BERG, NuMedii, DeepGenomics, and AICure.
2. Pharmaceuticals will be moving and investing in in-silico trials (virtual animal and patient models and simulations to reduce costs, trial time and efforts).
3. With all the patient health, genetic testing, genomic, and trial data available, clients will be producing smart personalized medicines and smart pills with controlled delivery and more preventive medicine than curative medicine.
4. Pharmaceuticals will want to become paperless and there will be a quest to become the first paperless organization within and with other organizations. Paperless Pharma includes Labs, Discovery, Research and Development, Manufacturing and Commercial.
5. More collaboration among the Payer, Provider and Pharma to demonstrate real-world outcomes and come up with personalized, value-based payment plans. Pharmaceuticals need to change the way of research, trials, manufacturing, market and drug prices based on comprehensive Payer, Provider, Trials and Real-world data RWE.