Cloud computing is transforming the pharmaceutical industry significantly. A report from Straits Research forecasts that the market for pharmaceutical cloud computing will grow from $17.24 billion in 2021 to $59.37 billion by 2030. This growth highlights the increasing adoption of cloud computing in pharma — driven by benefits such as improved collaboration, agility, data security, and scalability. For indepth understanding of how cloud-led digital transformation is reshaping pharmaceutical operations, keep reading. In this article, we will share more benefits, use cases and some success stories highlighting its impact. Let’s begin. Impact & Use of Cloud Computing in the Pharmaceutical Industry Here are some key areas where the impact of cloud computing in pharma is most prominent. Regulatory Compliance Cloud computing has impacted regulatory compliance in the pharmaceutical industry. Providers now use strong pharma cloud security measures like data encryption, access controls, and audit trails. This helps to align with FDA regulations on managing sensitive documentation and electronic records as outlined in FDA 21 CFR Part 11 standards. Business Continuity Another significant impact of pharma cloud computing is in business continuity. It ensures redundancy, disaster recovery, and high availability. In simple terms, if there’s a natural disaster, hardware glitch, or cyberattack, data stored in the cloud stays accessible from anywhere with the internet. Cloud providers also spread data centers across different locations and use replication techniques to ensure data backup and reduce downtime. This means pharmaceutical companies can keep running smoothly, with uninterrupted access to vital systems and data, even during crises. Data Storage and Management The pharmaceutical industry deals with extensive data from trials, research, and patient records, leading to the limitations associated with traditional storage methods. Cloud pharma offers a solution, utilizing scalable data warehouses and lakes. These centralized repositories store structured and unstructured data from diverse sources, allowing pharma companies to scale storage and processing as needed. Supply Chain and Logistics Cloud computing in pharma also impacts logistics and supply chains, especially cold chain monitoring and management. With cloud-powered apps, companies can remotely track temperature, humidity, and other vital product conditions during transportation and storage. This enables immediate alerts and interventions if conditions deviate, preventing costly spoilage and ensuring medication integrity. Cloud-based solutions also streamline data collection and analysis throughout the cold chain. This approach provides actionable insights into equipment performance and logistics efficiency. Pharma companies can use the insights to spot trends, refine processes, and make informed decisions to improve their cold chain operations. Easy Access to Information Cloud computing also impacts how pharmaceuticals access crucial information regarding drug supply chains. The U.S. Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) requires these firms to transmit and store specific data related to drug distribution electronically. Thanks to cloud computing, they can efficiently retrieve, access, and exchange this information in a standardized manner. This advancement enhances transparency, enabling regulatory authorities to oversee and regulate the supply chain more effectively. Benefits of Cloud Computing in the Pharmaceutical Industry There are many reasons why moving to the cloud holds a lot more appeal for pharmaceutical companies than using on-prem infrastructure. The pros of cloud adoption include. Accelerated Drug Discovery One of the biggest pros of cloud computing in pharmaceutical industry is drug discovery. With cloud computing, pharmaceutical companies get access to strong computing power, speeding up drug discovery. Cloud platforms supported by data analytics and advanced algorithms can efficiently analyze vast datasets containing molecular structures, genetic information, and clinical trial results. This accelerates the discovery of new treatments. Facilitated Collaboration Cloud computing enhances collaboration within and between pharmaceutical companies, regardless of location. A prime example is a cloud-powered virtual workspace, where professionals instantly convene to share findings, exchange ideas, and collaborate on projects. This accelerates knowledge dissemination, fostering teamwork and expediting the transformation of scientific breakthroughs into tangible medical advancements. Another example is production line management (PLM), for collaborative research and development. For instance, Neo PLM solution, specifically designed for Pharma, enhances seamless alignment between stakeholders, systems, and data throughout the entire product lifecycle — from research and development to manufacturing. Secure Clinical Trial Data Sharing One major benefit of cloud computing in pharma is security. Imagine a pharmaceutical company running multi-center clinical trials. By storing and accessing sensitive data on a cloud-based platform—known for top-notch security features—they can prevent data theft and ensure confidentiality, integrity, and accessibility. This setup allows them to easily share anonymized trial data with regulatory bodies and research collaborators, meeting transparency requirements and data protection regulations. Plus, thanks to wearables and smartphone tech, researchers can gather data directly from trial participants, all powered by cloud technology. Cloud computing also facilitates personalized or home-based healthcare. Take Easly.nl, for instance. It leverages cloud infrastructure to deliver self-testing solutions to individuals in the comfort of their homes, revolutionizing patient care delivery. Enhanced Pharma Marketing With cloud computing, pharmaceutical firms can supercharge their marketing. By tapping into data analytics and personalized strategies, they can better reach their audience. For example, a pharma company using cloud-based tools can segment its target market by age, behavior, or health history. By tailoring messages to different patient groups, they can boost engagement and help patients more effectively. Plus, with cloud marketing platforms, they can track campaigns in real time, modifying strategies for even better results. Streamlined Clinical Trial Design The clinical trial design process also benefits significantly from cloud adoption by pharmaceuticals. With this technology, pharmaceutical companies can access and analyze extensive data instantly. For example, companies can leverage cloud-based analytics to study real-world patient data, pinpointing the best trial protocols and recruitment plans. Patients can even join trials from home, thanks to remote data collection and monitoring. This approach, driven by data, makes clinical trials smoother, cheaper, and more likely to succeed. Cost Efficiency Cloud computing provides cost-saving benefits for pharmaceuticals. Instead of heavy investments in on-prem IT infrastructure and personnel, they can opt for the more reasonable pay-as-you-go cloud services. This means paying only for what they use. This approach allows them to allocate finances more effectively towards research, development, and innovation, rather than IT upkeep. For example, a startup with limited capital can prioritize drug development and clinical trials over building an expensive IT setup. Established companies can also redirect funds from hardware maintenance to exploring new therapies or expanding their product range. Scalable Computing Pharmaceutical companies face varying workloads. Spikes typically happen during clinical trials, drug development, and regulatory submissions. Unfortunately, traditional systems may not be able to handle sudden spikes in data or workloads. Cloud Computing, however, offers scalability, meaning companies can easily adjust their computing resources based on demand. They can handle peak workloads efficiently and scale back as occasion demands, optimizing resource use and cutting costs. For example, during a big clinical trial recruitment drive, a pharma company can swiftly boost its cloud resources to handle the increased data load. Then, during the downtime between trials, they can scale down to save on expenses. Easy, efficient, and cost-effective. Global Accessibility Cloud technology means global accessibility for pharmaceutical companies regardless of location. Pharmaceutical companies can access their data and tools from anywhere with internet access, allowing seamless collaboration, communication, and faster decision-making. Whether it’s offices, labs, or partners spread across different regions, everyone can instantly tap into shared resources and data. Take the pharmaceutical company conducting clinical trials in multiple locations, for example. This company can easily share real-time data and updates with researchers, doctors, and regulators worldwide, ensuring everyone remains on the same page and maintains transparency. Unlocking Real-time Data Insights Cloud-based platforms empower pharmaceutical companies with instant data reporting and analysis capabilities. By leveraging data engineering and warehouse resources, they can swiftly gather, process, and understand large amounts of data. This is invaluable for monitoring clinical trials closely. These tools can also be leveraged to gauge drug effectiveness and safety and manage supply chains in real time. By tapping into cloud-based analytics tools, companies can make informed decisions quickly, spot trends, catch irregularities, and adapt to changes in the pharmaceutical landscape with agility. Take, for example, the post-market phase of a drug: cloud analytics can monitor reports of adverse effects from healthcare providers and patients non-stop, ensuring timely responses and compliance with regulations. AI and ML Integration AI and ML drive digital transformation in pharma and cloud computing offers a strong foundation for seamlessly integrating them into workflows. AI and ML help pharma companies with discovering drugs, designing clinical trials, predicting patient outcomes, and personalizing treatments. They also play a key role in automating data analysis, image recognition, and natural language processing, diving into huge datasets from genomics, proteomics, and clinical trials to pinpoint potential drug targets or predict how patients will respond to treatments. It’s all about speeding up innovation, making operations smoother, and ultimately improving patient care. Imagine AI algorithms on cloud platforms. Optimize Your Pharma Workflowswith Our Custom Cloud Solutions GET STARTED How Pharma Giants Are Leveraging Cloud Computing Let’s see how actual pharmaceutical companies are leveraging cloud computing to make the most of their processes. Symphony Solutions Enhances QA Services for Neo PLM Neo PLM, a top player in Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) for life sciences, encountered a major hurdle: syncing their solutions with Pfizer’s ERP and MES systems. With over 230 pages of documentation and various integrations, maintaining seamless compatibility was vital. Symphony Solutions was approached to find a solution. Our extensive framework, featuring 300 checklist items, was customized to Neo PLM‘s unique needs to assess crucial project areas without disrupting project timelines. We came up with crucial findings by conducting thorough analysis and stakeholder interviews. Detected defects were thoroughly analyzed and prioritized. Controlled management of defects in external environments. Confirmation that the processes are managed and improving. Our approach earned us a stellar satisfaction rating of 8.3 out of 10 from stakeholders. Easly Cloud-Powered Data Management System Easly revolutionizes home self-testing, enabling individuals to monitor and manage their health easily, intuitively, and straightforwardly from the comfort of home. The company faced challenges with outdated data transfer methods, hindering project efficiency. They wanted to switch from outdated email transfers to a streamlined cloud-based data management solution. Symphony Solutions developed a bespoke software solution to revolutionize its operations. Focusing on accessibility, speed, and security, Symphony Solutions crafted a cloud-native solution with an intuitive user experience designed to optimize how Easly manages, stores, accesses, and shares information among various stakeholders. The result? Enhanced collaboration, accelerated processes, and streamlined workflows. Today, APC continues to champion cutting-edge technology, ensuring swift medicine production unencumbered by outdated practices, thanks to cloud technology and Symphony Solutions’ cloud native development services. AstraZeneca’s AWS Genomics Data Processing Solution A global biopharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca, pioneers innovative medicines across various therapy areas. Leveraging AWS, the company built a cloud-based solution for swift and scalable processing of genomics sequencing data. This solution, powered by AWS Lambda, AWS Batch, and Amazon S3, automates data orchestration and task execution, enabling rapid analysis, and is capable of performing over 51 billion statistical tests in under 24 hours. Thanks to this collaboration between AstraZeneca and AWS, the company has contributed genetic insights to over 40 drug discovery projects. This innovative approach drives the Centre for Genomics Research towards its ambitious goal of analyzing two million genomes by 2026. Takeda’s Project Fuji Powered by AWS Takeda, a global biopharmaceutical company, faced innovation challenges due to aging technology infrastructure. To overcome this, Takeda embarked on a cloud transformation journey with Amazon Web Services (AWS), giving birth to Project Fuji. Project Fuji resulted in Takeda migrating 80% of its business apps to the cloud and closing data centers. By centralizing data and harnessing AWS’s extensive offerings, Takeda was able to successfully streamline operations, foster innovation, and reduce its carbon footprint by 1,918.5 metric tons. Thanks to that cloud-driven digital transformation, Takeda was able to swiftly respond to the COVID-19 crisis. Now, the company is looking towards future initiatives including telehealth and personalized treatment, which will be powered by AWS cloud. The collaboration underscores Takeda’s commitment to leveraging technology for patient benefits, facilitated by AWS’s advanced capabilities. APC Cloud-Powered Data Management System APC revolutionizes drug development, partnering worldwide to accelerate bringing medicines to market, driven by a passion for science and research. The company faced challenges with outdated data transfer methods which was hindering project efficiency. They wanted to switch from outdated email transfers to a streamlined cloud-based data management solution. Symphony Solutions stepped in, developing a bespoke software solution to revolutionize their operations. With a focus on accessibility, speed, and security, Symphony Solutions crafted a cloud-native solution with an intuitive user experience designed to optimize how APC manages, stores, accesses, and shares information among various stakeholders. The result? Enhanced collaboration, accelerated processes, and streamlined workflows. Today, APC continues to champion cutting-edge technology, ensuring swift medicine production unencumbered by outdated practices, thanks to cloud technology and Symphony Solutions’ cloud native development services. Summing Up Cloud computing is key for pharmaceutical companies. It cuts costs, offers real-time data, and fosters global collaboration. As cloud adoption this this industry increases, we expect to see more transformations for the sector, particularly powered by artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics. But like any digital transformation, the key to leveraging cloud computing in pharma is working with a reliable IT partner. This is where we come in at Symphony Solutions. Symphony Solutions specializes in software development for healthcare and pharmaceutical organizations, helping clients in these industries make the most of the cloud to drive innovation, boost efficiency, and improve outcomes. Recently, we worked with a mental health client, building a scalable platform in just two months using AWS. We also partnered with a COVID-19 screening service, creating a web app on AWS for high-scale testing. You can read up on these case studies here. These successes showcase our expertise in cloud computing in healthcare, which can be leveraged to tackle the unique challenges and opportunities in the pharmaceutical sector. Transform Your Pharma Operations with Our Cloud-Native Development Services EXPLORE NOW FAQs How Is Cloud Computing Used in the Pharmaceutical Industry? One of the primary uses of cloud computing in the pharmaceutical industry is to achieve cost savings by cutting down expenses linked with IT infrastructure and data storage. It also fosters collaboration among researchers and stakeholders. How Can Cloud Computing Improve the Drug Discovery Process? Cloud computing accelerates drug discovery by empowering experts to extract insights from diverse datasets. It also provides computational power for complex tasks and enables collaborative research. Best of all, it harnesses machine learning and AI for predictive modeling and personalized medicine, paving the way for groundbreaking drug development approaches.
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Article Cloud & DevOps Healthcare Navigating Cloud Solutions for Healthcare Industry: Real-Life Applications The healthcare industry is getting a major digital upgrade, transforming everything from safety to costs. Leading this revolution are cutting-edge technologies like virtual doctor visits, digital health records, artificial intelligence, and smart devices, all supported by the power of cloud computing. Cloud computing is driving these changes by securely managing and analyzing vast health data. […]
Article Cloud & DevOps Healthcare Cloud Computing in Healthcare: 9 Benefits of Cloud Computing Cloud computing is making a big splash in healthcare. Already, 70% of health IT professionals say their organizations are using cloud solutions, and another 20% plan to join them within two years. This shows how fast cloud adoption is growing in healthcare. The reason behind this shift is clear. Cloud computing can solve problems that […]