Finding the True Meaning of Disruption
When it comes to innovation, keen and eager companies often describe their work as disruptive. But how many of the innovations making their way onto the drug development and manufacturing scene truly have the capacity to change the industry for the better?
Noel Maestre | | Opinion
Disruptive is a term that is overused in the life science industry. It’s often applied to marginal technological upgrades or even adapting a tried and true technology to a new application. That said, the current transformation in our industry is both exciting and unknown – and, by definition, disruptive.
Much like the scientific revolution currently being fueled by novel modalities, such as RNA, cell therapy and gene therapy, we are also seeing swift technological advancements. Pharma 4.0 is a complex ecosystem of tools, systems, and technologies that will amplify the industry’s capabilities to a degree nearing science fiction. The age of lights-out, cloud-based, fully automated, and self-learning facilities is entering the biopharma industry, and progressing at a rapid pace.
As an industry, we must prepare for the profound changes the next two decades will bring in the form of curative therapies being manufactured in factories and processes that will have little resemblance to the ones we know today. Automation will help us get there. But it is our responsibility to harness the power of this revolution to make cures and therapies accessible to patients around the globe.
Noel Maestre is Vice President, Life Sciences at CRB
