Digital solutions for the pharmaceutical industry

Pharma Insights

The integration of manual and automated processes paves the way to paperless manufacturing

Siemens is paving the way to paperless manufacturing – with the integration of SIMATIC IT eBR and SIMATIC PCS 7 in real time. Electronic user guidance for manual process steps: the system generates electronic work instructions to minimize the risk of error. The employee must confirm correct implementation with an electronic signature. This ensures production reliability. The electronic batch record software solution makes documentation and review easier and more efficient – without breaching the strict standards imposed by the regulatory authorities.

Paperless manufacturing on the basis of the electronic batch record allows review by exception. This means that when a batch is released only deviations have to be reviewed assessed instead of the whole batch documentation. This makes release faster and more efficient.

Benefits at a glance:

Prevent and reduce errors with more reliable process execution
Reduce review effort with “Review by Exception”
Electronic recording and documentation of all production data
Implementation costs and risks are reduced

Thus, SIMATIC IT eBR plays a key role in cost-effective implementation of the smallest batches – a major step towards personalized medicine.

Alwyn Jones explains how the transition to flexible paperless manufacturing can enable production of more individualised medicines and therapies, with assured data integrity and transparency at every phase of the manufacturing process

More about paperless manufacturing

Continuous manufacturing

In a challenging industry landscape, pharmaceutical manufacturers must adapt manufacturing processes to meet current demands in order to remain profitable and meet patient needs. Continuous manufacturing is playing a vital role in meeting these objectives, by delivering higher productivity, flexibility and lowering the cost of quality.

As pharmaceutical companies are seeking to optimise manufacturing processes and maintain high product quality, continuous methods are a key enabler to building quality by design (QbD) into the complete product lifecycle, from R&D through to manufacturing, with the ultimate aim of getting safer medicines to market in a more efficient and cost-effective way.

Using in-line quality testing enables right first time production, therefore reducing waste and the time typically afforded to product testing, evaluation and batch review.

Transforming the medical supply chain of the future

Alwyn Jones, Head of Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences – Siemens UK and Craig Johnston, Industry Director at CMAC talk about the opportunities of continuous manufacturing for the pharmaceutical industry.

Learn how to deliver manufacturing efficiencies continuously

Read the article

References Examples of successful projects relating to digitalization – take a look at some of our references here.

GSK

Stevenage, England

The art of the possible

The team at GSK’s IIM Digitisation Lab shows the art of the possible in a working pharmaceutical manufacturing facility.
The new technologies enable context-rich data acquisition and control as well as data virtualization and integration.
With Siemens solutions the IIM facility is able to accelerate technology adoption within GSK.

DSM

Heerlen, Netherlands

Pioneers of change

Originally founded as a coal mining company, today Dutch State Mines (DSM) manufactures industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and nutritional supplements.
An integrated control solution provides DSM with a great deal of operational data and thereby optimizes the production of vitamin C.
An interview with Helen Jiang, capex manager of DSM, about the company’s role in the Chinese market.

BioNTech

Mainz, Germany

Targeting cancer

Personalization is a top trend in medical technology.
With its personalized vaccine, the biotechnology company BioNTech is a pioneer in the battle against cancer.
To enable active pharmaceutical ingredients to be produced faster and in large quantities, the company relies on SIMATIC IT eBR and Preactor.

Rongsheng

China

The digital vein

The Chinese pharmaceutical company Chengdu Rongsheng Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. modernized its process with a manufacturing execution system.
The blood plasma production plant in Chengdu now relies on highly modern electronic charge documentation.
As a result, it is considerably more stable and efficient.