5 Ways Blockchain Technology Is Impacting The Pharma Industry (For Good)

An IBM survey reported firm implementation plans for commercial blockchain solutions by 16% of healthcare executives, while 56% of them expect to adopt it by 2020.

Clearly, blockchain technology has steadily filtered into an increasing number of profitable markets, Pharma being one of them. In fact, at the MedCity Converge Conference in Philadelphia, Nishan Kulatilaka, Merck Associate Director for Applied Technology, noted that healthcare could be the second-largest sector to adopt the technology, after financial services.

So, what makes the tech so powerful?

Let’s understand it this way: Imagine being in a group text with hundred of other people. If you send a regrettable text after a night of binge drinking, you may be tempted to delete that message. However, even if you delete the text on your phone, the other 99 members still have their own copies. In the same way, a blockchain is a tamper-proof record of the truth, corroborated by all the participants in the network. Simply put, a blockchain is a software that provides a digital ledger system in which transactions are processed, validated and recorded in the form of ‘blocks’ which are chronologically linked in the form of a ‘chain’. Security is assured because the data has no centralized points that could be targeted by hackers.

Despite the possible negative connotations surrounding bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, the potential for the blockchain to bring tangible benefits to the healthcare sector is incredibly high.

There are several real world use cases that tell how actively the pharmaceutical industry is exploring the blockchain technology. Let’s discuss some important features that are gradually being developed and realized :

1. Transparency in supply chain manufacturing

When a physician prescribes a drug to a patient or when a pharmacist sells it to him, they aren’t totally sure where the drug is coming from. In fact, almost every entity involved in the shipping process of a drug has no certain idea on where a specific shipment is exactly coming from. They trust that the group in the chain one level before them has carried out their duties appropriately, and that the products were not mishandled before they were handed over to the distributor. Blockchain technology can provide real-time access to data and visibility across the entire pharmaceutical supply chain, from the ingredient supplier’s product codes to the pharmacies dispensing prescriptions to patients.

Moreover, several third-party companies that are hired to research on the movement of pharmaceuticals could be drastically lowered with a blockchain-based tracking system, hence reducing the financial burden in the manufacturing supply chain.

Novartis is already experimenting with blockchain for two things currently- to identify fake medicines and, track temperature with real-time visibility for all participants in the supply chain.

2. Safe drug manufacturing

Drug manufacturing and packaging are sensitive stages with the highest risk of contamination. Production of counterfeit drugs lacking active ingredients can ultimately lead to end-consumer patient harm or even death.

Integrating an optimized blockchain platform would include drug identification, verification, and instant notifications when illegitimate drugs are found or unauthorized edits are made in the system. A customized identification tag on each medicine would allow for seamless transfer of ownership through a trusted and verifiable network, from upstream suppliers to downstream patients and consumers.

3. Managing clinical trials

As more and more biotech companies are developing large molecule medicines (biologics) from various sources, there’s a growing need for a system that identifies and validates the various points along the path to a final product for market.

Besides, the emphasis on the security offered by blockchain is key to its use in the management of clinical trials, where the confidentiality of patient information, and the integrity of trial data, are of paramount concern.

Using digital ledgers to create and store unique identities of people who’ve enrolled in trials, would also prevent patients from participating in multiple studies simultaneously.

4. Forecasting demand and preparing inventories

To ensure an efficient flow of product and steady financial gains, drug manufacturers require a secure digital ledger from specific wholesalers to provide a better visibility into their inventory demand. A blockchain-based system would enable manufacturers to efficiently manage inventory levels to prepare for unexpected spikes in demand. With the growth in pharmaceutical companies, and hence, the inventories, the tracking and tracing features of blockchain technology is likely to become a necessity in the coming years.

5. Promoting public safety and consumer awareness

Blockchains provide a strong foundation of trustworthiness to the patient community as a whole. The tech can be potentially used to create a system that provides informative, real-time responses to events such as new medicine reviews and product recalls. With blockchain making real-time data available at the push of a button, pharmacies can improve their internal and external inventories, fill in the gaps in pharmaceutical supply chains globally, thereby mitigating their direct impact on the overall population.

Blockchains are no more a question of IF, but of WHEN

With so many benefits, it can be easily said that blockchains are fast becoming the nervous system of our society. In combination with other contemporary technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchains are the drivers of digital innovations that can aid in building millions of healthier lives.