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Dynamics 365 and the Biotech Industry
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Microsoft Dynamics 365 and the Biotech Industry
Microsoft Dynamics 365 and the Biotech Industry 700 500 Xcelpros Team

Introduction

Biotech companies, like other highly regulated industries, must stay focused on their business to stay competitive and profitable, leading many to wonder if a solution like Microsoft Dynamics 365 can help. Microsoft’s latest offerings include several different cloud-based software applications that can help your business succeed, no matter what industry you operate in. From CRM software that helps keep your customers satisfied to accounting and invoicing software that can streamline your operations, Dynamics 365 can improve every aspect of your business.

Overview of Microsoft Dynamics 365

We talk about Microsoft often, and with good reason. The latest version of Dynamics 365 offers a comprehensive, integrated application suite that helps midsize and large enterprises of all industries and sizes operate more efficiently. Organizations that have leapt legacy software happily report increased efficiency, profitability, and customer satisfaction, especially over time.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 uses complex algorithms, data analytics, cloud storage, and processing power to provide users with real-time data across their entire operation. Built on Microsoft’s Cloud technologies, it is an extremely capable Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution that includes modules for finance, HR, sales, and marketing, integrating seamlessly with different Office365 applications like SharePoint Online.

Key capabilities include time management for HR teams and a BI (Business Intelligence) feature for analyzing important insights about sales performance or key metrics like customer loyalty. With Microsoft Dynamics 365, leaders can see where they stand with goals and forecast future results. With this information, they can make informed decisions based on reality instead of fear.

As organizations in the life sciences move into uncharted territory with technology innovations happening at an accelerated pace, they need solutions to help them stay competitive. A more thorough list of features includes inventory management (for example, purchase orders), financial forecasting (budgeting), contract management (including contracts with suppliers) and payment terms, which make the system highly flexible for any size organization or environment, reducing the need to customize solutions based on old ideology.

Benefits & Advantages of Switching to Dynamics 365

After switching from legacy software to Microsoft Dynamics 365, organizations can expect increased agility and enhanced efficiency in operations. Biotech companies will be able to find success by speeding up innovation and giving themselves a competitive edge over their competitors.

With Microsoft Dynamics 365, they’ll have more insight into what customers want, which products are working well and why they’re not doing as well as they should. Organizations will also have access to data that would have been difficult or impossible to retrieve, like customer feedback about past product launches.

Armed with more information, companies can go back and improve those products to give them better chances of success. They’ll also be able to make more informed decisions based on accurate data, meaning everything will run smoother when it comes time to restock inventory.

Employees will get more personalized insights allowing them to develop creative solutions to problems on the fly without having to wait for IT staff. Plus, all employees have an easier time finding needed resources because of how closely tailored Microsoft Dynamics 365 is to their needs as employees of that organization.

Microsoft Dynamics in Biotech

Biotech companies are constantly challenged to maintain compliance standards, but there are features within Microsoft Dynamics that help with regulatory requirements and inventory control.

And with eForms, document management, and archiving solutions, you’ll have all your data captured in a central repository where you can use intelligent or custom search to find what you need when needed.

Figure 1:Microsoft Dynamics 365 for the Biotech Industry

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for the Biotech Industry

Here are some more specific reasons for Microsoft Dynamics 365 in the Biotech industry.

  1. 1.Microsoft Dynamics 365 enables automation for several Biotech processes out of the box, which ensures you’ll spend as little time as possible getting up and running.
    1. a.AP automation
    2. b.Business Process Library (BPL) management for ISO certification
    3. c.Lot, batch and quality tracking
  2. 2.Dynamics 365 provides powerful insights through machine learning tools like Power BI that help measure customer engagement metrics, letting you plan and forecast more accurately.
    1. a.Expenses
    2. b.Budgets and forecasts
    3. c.Increased visibility for investors
  3. 3.Seamless integrations to the entire Microsoft 365 ecosystem and other third-party solutions give you greater visibility of everything under one roof for maximum long-term value.
    1. a.Banks
    2. b.Label and Lab software
    3. c.Payroll systems
    4. d.ACH
  4. 4.Powerful scalability means you can add additional functionality or users as your business grows.
    1. a.Subscription-based pricing helps you manage your technology budget
    2. b.Secure team collaboration from different devices around the world
    3. c.One solution is to invest in the long-term

Microsoft Dynamics offers more than just sales, finance, and operations functionality. So, suppose any part of your operation needs a software solution. In that case, it’s worth exploring how Microsoft Dynamics 365 could be leveraged to give you a competitive edge over others in your industry.

The Biotech industry is a perfect example with numerous variables such as complex research, high failure rates for drugs going into clinical trials, and fluctuating levels of competition. The technology tools businesses use in this sector include precision engineering and computer modeling, proprietary manufacturing methods and other specialized equipment.

One thing to consider with Microsoft Dynamics is that the company updates their products at least once a year, ensuring they’re always keeping up with the latest trends in technology. For example, annual releases include updates across the entire product portfolio. Each solution can provide better support for real-time decisions based on emerging technologies such as Ai (Artificial Intelligence), IoT (Internet of Things), and analytics.

Technology that Supports Your Workflows

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a complete suite of technologies designed to streamline workflows and get more done in less time. The complete suite is designed with the people and processes that power your business in mind. Microsoft Dynamics 365 incorporates three main categories – customer engagement, employee engagement, and intelligence capabilities – to help all your employees work better together by offering a cloud-based app that functions on any device so that you always have access to information.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 also includes all necessary functionalities such as finance and accounting, manufacturing, retail management, enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management and marketing tools to be flexible enough to adapt to any size or type of business.

These tools are designed to save you time while improving your decision-making abilities. Additional benefits include easy deployment and customization options tailored specifically to meet your company’s needs and greater security due to its compliance with data protection regulations like HIPAA, GDPR and PCI DSS standards.

Factors That Can Affect Your Migration

Key factors that can affect your migration to Microsoft Dynamics 365 usually include financial considerations, customer-facing tools, and Industry-specific modules. Considering these factors is essential when looking at the different migration paths and key decisions, such as starting from scratch or migrating everything from your existing system.

These decisions should be made with a strong understanding of Microsoft Dynamics 365 functionality and features. As mentioned previously, it’s important to research the best path for your organization before beginning any work on migrating data into Dynamics 365.

One major consideration is working with a Microsoft Partner specializing in either Data Migration Services or Application Integration Services, who’s worked with both systems. The right Partner will work with you through the process and help ensure it goes smoothly and efficiently.

It may take longer initially if you want all your data transferred. Still, this way, you won’t have any gaps in information once everything has been moved over, which could lead to a smoother transition overall while also avoiding potential errors due to duplicate records or inaccurate information.

Critical Aspects when Migrating to a New Platform

Below are five critical aspects to remember when migrating your business to any new platform.

  1. 1.Think about how long it will take you to make the migration before you start. Migrations that take weeks or months can consume your budget and cost you valuable time.
  2. 2.Ensure all stakeholders agree on what they want to achieve through a migration before your project starts.
  3. 3.Evaluate whether it’s feasible to do an incremental migration rather than a full one-time conversion from the legacy system to Dynamics 365 (keep in mind incremental migrations have their own set of issues and problems).
  4. 4.Consider migrating other aspects of your business, along with data – Integrating Dynamics 365 with your partners and vendors, for example, can help streamline day-to-day business functions.
  5. 5.Focus on understanding who uses which features and how they use them.

Understanding your needs ahead of time will help optimize your experience in the future. You’ll also want to set up a post-migration process where feedback channels are open at every step of the way, so that any challenges experienced by staff during the migration can be resolved quickly without disrupting business operations.

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re an aspiring startup or an established Biotech company with a growing number of employees, Dynamics 365 continues to offer many powerful features that let you offer a better customer experience and help you keep things running smoothly.

Here are the next steps if you’re ready to get started updating your Biotech business solution to Microsoft Dynamics 365:

  • Find a Partner that understands the software, your industry, and the work you do.
  • Consider your company’s specific needs and goals to ensure the proposed solution meets these criteria.
  • Assess the current state of any legacy software in use, including the time it takes to manage payroll with old systems.
  • Identify what functionality is already included in the system and set clear priorities for needs and wants.

Schedule a call right away for additional details or to learn how we can support the expansion of your Biotech company.

Process and systems to support the bio-economy banner
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Process and systems to support the Bioeconomy
Process and systems to support the Bioeconomy 700 500 Xcelpros Team

The public benefit gained through biological research can be seen through the eyes of a patient who receives a critical medication that did not exist a decade ago, a farmer whose higher-yield crops are turned into fuels, food, and intermediate chemicals, and a small-business owner whose innovative biobased products are breaking new ground in manufacturing. Increased societal needs for food and energy, combined with new knowledge/discoveries in biology and new methods for harnessing biological processes, have dramatically increased the economic potential of the bioeconomy.The National Bioeconomy Blueprint

Introduction

Though written in 2012, The National Bioeconomy Blueprint contains some information valuable to any company wanting to explore the bioeconomy. Critical elements are investments in research and technology.

“… If we want the next big breakthrough, the next big industry to be an American breakthrough, an American industry, then we can’t sacrifice these investments in research and technology,” then-President Barack Obama says in the report. The White House authored the report.

Government agencies at the time were supporting the bioeconomy by:

  • Identifying research and development (R&D) methods
  • Developing foundational transformative technologies
  • Integrating approaches from engineering, physical sciences and computers
  • Improving predictions of vaccine and drug toxicity and efficacy
  • Identifying and characterizing any microbial organism, including purely synthetic versions
  • Creating “science enclaves” that allow analysis of large, complex datasets while maintaining proprietary information.

The report also wanted American industry to increase investment in and production of biofuels, replacing fossil fuels with biomass systems.

Other tasks cited in the report included converting carbon dioxide into liquid fuels, improving biofuel and energy crops, developing new agricultural research programs that drive job creation and transforming manufacturing through bioinnovation.

Some of these tasks have already shown results.

Recent Biotechnical Innovations

A 2020 post on the Klabtree Blog lists 10 biotech innovations.

One of them is CRISPR-based platforms. An acronym for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, CRISPR technology was used to create the Pfizer-BioNtech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines. Other medicines are also using the same technology.

The CRISPR tool, “is based on a system that bacteria use to fight viruses. Bacteria develop clustered repeated sequences in their DNA, known as CRISPRs, that can remember dangerous viruses and then deploy RNA-guided scissors to destroy them,” an article in Time magazine states.

Unlike a DNA-based product that targets a cell’s nucleus, messenger RNA (mRNA)-based vaccines just need to get into the more accessible outer regions of cells where proteins are built.

Using CRISPR technology to accomplish this task, both companies were able to produce Covid-19 vaccines that meet FDA emergency standards. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, now known as Comirnaty, uses its regular, non-emergency procedures. The “regular” and “emergency” variations share the same formula, the FDA states.

Another technological innovation cited by KolabTree that is still being developed involves using DNA as a computer hard drive. The concept would turn cells into data storage chambers with the not-yet-realized ability to store information similar to current data storage.

A third innovation is using base pairings of DNA and RNA nucleotides in what is known as “DNA origami” after the Japanese paper folding art form. Nanovery is using this technology to create diagnostic nanorobots. The robots are inserted into a blood sample. When cancerous DNA is found, the robots light up.

Bioeconomy Business Strategies

Having the technology to turn biological products such as corn husks into fuel does not generate money. Having people who can see profits in the bioeconomy does.

“Entrepreneurs can contribute to the (bioeconomy transformation) by commercializing innovative technologies through startups and new business models,” Andreas Kuckertz writes in a white paper published through MDPI.com.

Figue: 1Bioeconomy Business Strategies

Bioeconomy Business Strategies

Using his research, key strategies for the United States mentioned by the author include:

  • Regulatory framework: Creation of tax breaks, reducing regulatory barriers and helping entrepreneurs obtain and defend patents
  • Market Conditions: Use the public procurement process to speed market adoption
  • Access to Finance: Support the bioeconomy by using venture capital for startups
  • Knowledge Creation and Diffusion: Educate entrepreneurs, connect them to mentors and educate government agencies about entrepreneurship
  • Entrepreneurial Capabilities: Enhance university entrepreneurship
  • Culture: Create an overview of available prizes and awards (mentioned in the National Bioeconomy Blueprint)

Kuckertz suggests modifying these strategies to include those that are:

  • Holistic and based on a clear, causal rationale
  • Include policies with measures tied to clear key performance indicators (KPIs) that can measure progress
  • Have, “dedicated innovation programs accounting for the specifics of bioeconomic innovation will be required to recognize the potential of many promising and possibly game-changing entrepreneurial initiatives.”

While Kuckertz’s comments are oriented at new business development, these same strategies can be used by existing companies. One way is by taking advantage of current cutting-edge business technology: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software.

Get a consultation to learn how to optimize your processes and systems to support bioeconomy.

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Common Themes in Bioeconomy Products

Each of the previous technological innovations has at least three common themes:

  1. 1.Collecting massive quantities of data, also known as “big data.”
  2. 2.Analyzing it and making sense of what is found. Researchers can pour over spreadsheets and try to understand the data or they can use software. Machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence software helps find the nuggets. These are the test samples that show a formula’s promise while also listing all of the others that don’t.
  3. 3.Safely storing this information away from prying eyes and competitors.

The good news for many companies is the technology to accomplish these three tasks exists today.

The industrial internet of things (IIoT) lets companies gather big data. ERP software is adept at many tasks, one of which is using artificial intelligence (AI) to provide business insights.

Cloud data storage is generally considered to be more secure than that on many small and medium business (SMB) internal networks, using the Microsoft Azure platform to run Windows-based products, adding extra layers of security and reliability.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 AI is designed to help businesses gather insights into customer needs and experiences. It helps companies accelerate a single process and lets groups solve problems and make decisions based on the data.

Microsoft Azure’s cloud computing service provides a stronger, safer and much more resilient computing platform than the average SMB network. It also has the advantage of making data easily accessible from anywhere in the world, all without compromising data security.

The Bottom Line

The bioeconomy is slowly making inroads into various industries. The chemical and pharmaceutical fields are perfectly set-up to take advantage of reusable biological materials such as corn husks for fuel. Other materials can be used to produce less toxic plant-based solvents.

Making money from the bioeconomy requires not only forward-thinking investors who care about the environment, but also advanced technology like Microsoft Dynamics 365 to make sense of it all.

REFERENCE:

Top 10 Biotech Innovations you should know about

Helping your company fit into the-bio-economy banner
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Helping Your Company Fit into the Bioeconomy
Helping Your Company Fit into the Bioeconomy 700 500 Xcelpros Team

Introduction

The term “bioeconomy” has begun gaining steam but many executives don’t know what it means or how it might affect their business.

Brain-biotech.com defines bioeconomy as producing renewable biological resources and then converting them plus waste streams into valued-added products. These include food, animal feed, bio-based products and energy, including fuels.

A related but different concept is the circular economy, “where the value of products, materials and resources is maintained in the economy for as long as possible, and the generation of waste minimized,” the article states.

Both concepts share the goals of increasing resource efficiency and lowering demand for new petroleum resources while creating more jobs. Tying into both of these is “cascading,” which promotes recycling and remanufacturing. An example of cascading is using fresh wood to build furniture. When the main product’s life ends, part or all of the wood is used for something else such as a different piece of furniture or a planter.

“The circular economy includes all kinds of material streams with different utilization routes. Organic recycling, which equals biodegradation, and even the capture and utilization of carbon dioxide from industrial processes or the atmosphere are included,” the report states.

One way the bioeconomy affects industry is by producing renewable carbon compared to fossil carbon such as oil and other fossil fuels. The bioeconomy and circular economy have a common goal: creating a more sustainable world with a low carbon footprint. Both avoid using fossil carbon. Using sustainable resources helps achieve climate targets, brain-biotech states.

Among the stated goals of the bioeconomy and the circular economy are:

  • Reducing the use of fossil fuels
  • Wiser management of natural resources
  • Continually reusing minerals, metals, and biomass from agriculture, forests and the seas
  • Creating biodegradable and compostable products
  • Generating ways to capture and reuse carbon dioxide in the Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) process
  • Reducing greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2)
  • Reducing waste, especially anything going into landfills
  • Promoting research across disciplines and borders
  • Creating more jobs in rural and urban environments

Impacts of the Bioeconomy on the Financial Economy

Features unique to the bioeconomy include creating new products and better utilization of agriculture and forestry, Brain-biotech states. Among its examples are using genome editing to create products with lower toxicity and new functions plus more nature-compatible (i.e., biodegradable) and healthier consumer goods.

So where can we see the bioeconomy? “The U.S. bioeconomy is all around us: new drugs and diagnostics for improved human health, higher-yielding food crops, emerging biofuels to reduce dependence on oil and biobased chemical intermediaries,” the 2012 White House’s National Bioeconomy Blueprint is quoted as saying in youmatter.world.

Youmatter.world connects the bioeconomy and circular economy by referring to the circular economy as “the what” as in what are desired outcomes. The bioeconomy is “the how” as in how biophysical processes can be enhanced to achieve the expected result.

Transforming the U.S. economy from one based on hydrocarbons (i.e., fossil fuels) to a bioeconomy, will have the most dramatic effects. These effects will be felt most strongly in the energy, agricultural, chemical, industrial and consumer products and transportation industries, attorney Neil Belson wrote in 2016.

Among Belson’s conclusions are, “an economy that runs primarily on renewable, domestically produced bio based raw materials is inherently less vulnerable to disruption than one which relies on or is heavily influenced by the availability of foreign fossil fuel energy supplies.”

Among the biofuel resources are corn stalks and wheat straw, animal manure, household and industrial organic wastes containing carbon and dedicated fast-growing energy crops.

Belson also suggests a major target of opportunity is the $164 billion U.S. organic chemical industry.

By the Numbers

After several years of declining revenue caused by low fossil fuel prices, the Organic Chemical Industry is expected to resume growing in 2021, reports from IBISWorld state. Among the highlights are:

  • 13.2%: The 2021 increase in market size estimated by the Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry (OCMI).
  • $106 billion: The 2021 market size measured by revenue of the OCMI
  • 1,107: Number of organic chemical businesses in the US
  • 75,441: Number of people employed in the organic chemical businesses in the US

Current top products and related manufacturing activities are producing:

  • Ethyl alcohol
  • Cyclic crudes, coal tar, wood chemical and intermediate products
  • Basic organic chemical products
  • Fatty acids
  • Synthetic organic alcohols
  • Synthetic flavor and perfume materials
  • Bulk pesticides

This list does not include forestry-related materials such as major wood products.

According to the Government

The US Department of Agriculture released the 128-page “An Economic Impact Analysis of the U.S. Biobased Products Industry” in 2015.

Using 2013 numbers, the US Biobased Products Industry:

  • Contributed 4 million jobs
  • Added $369 billion to the U.S. economy
  • Created 1.64 more jobs for every 1 biobased products job
  • 20,000 products in the BioPreferred program database not including traditional textile fabrics or forest products. The true number is closer to 40,000, the report states.
  • 300 million gallons of petroleum replaced by biochemicals and natural-based products replacing petroleum products such as Styrofoam.

Get a consultation to learn how to get your company ready for the bioeconomy.

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Areas of Opportunity

Figure: 1Number of Installed Ethanol Biorefineries in the US

Number of Installed Ethanol biorefineries in the US

Statista states that in 2019, the US had more than 200 ethanol biorefineries. In 2015, the USDA listed 213 such refineries. Audi, BMW, Porsche and Volkswagen make diesel vehicles that can use biodiesel blends, edmunds.com states. As of 2014, most biofuel came from soybean oil. The US Department of Energy states that the B20 biodiesel blend contains 2% – 6% biodiesel mixed with petroleum fuel.

Adding biodiesel improves fuel lubricity making vehicles easier to start and reduces ignition delay. It also reduces premature wear on moving parts even in concentrations as low as 1%, the Alternative Fuels Data Center states.

Chemical and pharmaceutical companies, take note: Modor Intelligence estimates the market for biochemical reagents will grow at a CAGR rate of 9.1% between 2020 – 2025. This market is defined by products such as cell and tissue reagents, electrophoresis and others plus geography. Asia Pacific is the fastest growing market while North America is the largest.

Chromatography reagents have the greatest demand with their use in many pharmaceutical processes such as separating chemicals and biomolecules, diagnostics and protein purification.

Market Research Future’s report on the Global Bio-Based Chemicals Market states the top products between 2019 – 2025 will be bioplastics, bio-lubricants, bio-solvents, bio-based acids, bio-surfactants, bio-alcohols and others.

Let Technology Help

What chemical wastes currently costing the company money to be shipped to a landfill can be reused to boost profits? Companies using technology like Microsoft PowerBi and Microsoft Dynamics 365 to organize their data can organize waste into its core components. Some of it might be easily converted into biofuels. Others might be broken apart with components becoming biodegradable solvents.

Another way tech can help is by looking at existing customers in growing markets and suppliers in areas where key crops are grown. Are they ways to piggyback shipments and reduce transportation costs while also cutting air pollution? Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management can combine and crunch data. While helping a business run much more efficiently, it can also offer insights into new ways to use existing products.

The Bottom Line

The bioeconomy is here to stay, as is global warming. Companies entering bioeconomy markets should look at new ways to use plant-based materials to replace petroleum products, like the chemical and pharmaceutical industries using plant-based solvents to develop new medicines because they are less toxic and better for everyone in the long run.

Alternate fuels, fibers, chemicals made from plants and other biological sources are just a few of the many potential products whose demand will continue to rise.

Using cutting-edge enterprise resource planning software can help a company more accurately evaluate its own products and resources. Who knows, there just might be the materials to build some bioeconomy products already sitting on a warehouse shelf. With the right tech, you will know what you have.

How Modern Digital Tools Can Help Transform Biotech companies
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How Modern Digital Tools Are Transforming The Biotech Industry
How Modern Digital Tools Are Transforming The Biotech Industry 700 500 Xcelpros Team

How Modern Digital Tools Are Transforming The Biotech Industry

Every day we’re seeing major technological changes impacting the biotech industry. Today’s leading companies are leveraging modern biotech tools to help their businesses grow. See how emerging and evolving computer technologies such as AI, when combined with enterprise business applications, are helping biotech companies work faster with lower costs. For more information see the full article here.

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The Challenges of Biotechnology to Resolve
The Challenges of Biotechnology to Resolve 700 500 Xcelpros Team

Introduction

With the new strains and mutants of the COVID-19 virus being reported from countries all across the globe, the biotechnology industry is facing immense pressure to churn out the right vaccinations and provide effective medical assistance. While the industry had been booming exponentially before the pandemic, new challenges arise as they move to the ‘new-normal’. Here are the top biotechnology industry challenges to solve.

Challenges in Biotech

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How Modern Digital Tools Can Help Transform Biotech companies
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How Modern Digital Tools Can Help Transform Biotech Companies
How Modern Digital Tools Can Help Transform Biotech Companies 700 500 Xcelpros Team

At a Glance

Technological changes are impacting Biotechnology now and in the future to come. New-age companies are leveraging modern biotech tools to aid business productivity and growth.

Some key aspects involved in the transformation of the biotech sector are:

  • Machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing and ERP systems residing on a unified platform.
  • The combination of these technologies is reducing the time it takes to create and produce diagnostic procedures and medicines.
  • The impacts of these technologies on operational excellence is reducing failure rates and permitting the production of therapies tailored to specific patients.

A Short History of Vaccines

According to The World Health Organization (WHO)’s History of Polio Vaccination, the first polio epidemic struck the U.S. in 1894. The polio virus wasn’t identified until 1908, and Jonas Salk’s first vaccine tests started in 1952. Polio wasn’t declared eliminated from the Americas until 1994.

Using modern biotechnology, Operation Warp Speed was announced on March 30, 2020. Moderna published its initial Phase I/II trial data on July 14, 2020, followed by Pfizer on Aug. 12. The previous record for vaccine development was four years for mumps, a BioSpace article states.

Machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing and other next-generation computing tools are among the changes expected to have a big impact on the biotechnology manufacturing processes now and into the future.

How will improvements in computing technology impact the biotech sector? By reducing the time it takes to bring new products such as medicines and testing methods to market, an article on Northeastern University’s Graduate Programs Blog states.

The advent of other digital tools such as Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) means sensors on various biotech production devices are now measuring and adjusting the rate of chemical flows, temperatures and other variables previously monitored by people.

“Robot scientists using AI can test more compounds and do so with improved accuracy and reproducibility and exhaustive, searchable record keeping,” Steve Oliver, a systems biologist with the University of Cambridge, said in May 20, 2018 Nature article ‘How artificial intelligence is changing drug discovery”’.

Using AI, scientists can create and analyze large quantities of outcome data, highlighting differences between healthy cells and those damaged by diseases such as cancer. “We are turning the drug-discovery paradigm upside down by using patient-driven biology and data to derive more-predictive hypotheses, rather than the traditional trial-and-error approach,” Niven Narain, co-founder of Berg, a biotech firm near Boston, said in the Nature article.

The bottom line of using AI and machine learning is improving biotech firms’ profits by dropping the failure rate from its current 90 percent and reducing the cost of developing new drugs.

Cloud computing and virtual meetings permit sharing information and making informed decisions. In terms of analyzing data, the physical location of a scientist, manager or worker is no longer a barrier to their contributions to a biotech effort. Online collaboration also allows smaller firms to share information and gather insights from academic organizations and government research organizations, permitting access to many more stakeholders, the Northeastern article states.

The strength of a company surfaces when all of these different applications work together through seamless integration with an ERP platform, without creating security threats or data integrity issues.

Tech and Clinical Trials

As clinical trials migrate to better service levels for all patients, clinical trials become more about converting data into actionable intelligence, Michael Kleppinger of Syneos Health said in an XTalks article.

Other biotech leaders stated that clinical trials are now using master protocols, basket design and adaptive trial design, all of which require computing power to make it work. This includes virtual trials that expand the potential patient population, Ken Light of OmniComm Systems told XTalks.

“If you think about it, if you’re only getting partial data, be it from a CRO (contract research organization) or EDC (electronic data capture) system or CTMS (clinical trial management system) or your financial systems or wherever that data is housed and sitting, how are you able to make informed decisions on partial data? In my mind, it’s like trying to throw darts with a blindfold on,” Joe Erline of Saama Technologies told XTalks.

Modern Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems combine data from departments such as purchasing, inventory and finance. The software allows chief financial officers and other top executives to make better decisions by seeing a larger picture using multiple data streams.

Non-traditional data sources are also broadening access to some data types

Among the recent products cited are internet-connectable smart watches including Apple iWatches ™ and Fitbit ™ exercise trackers, all of which obtain and record physiological data. Running the data through machine learning algorithms allows top executives to predict how well certain therapy molecules will work and determine the molecules’ toxicity and treatment effectiveness, all much faster and more economically than in the past.

Figure: 1 Medicine at FDA: The Scope & Significance of Progress in 2020

Medicine at FDA: The Scope & Significance of Progress in 2020

Tech and Personalized Treatment

One area directly benefiting from computer advancements is the cost of personalized genetic testing to consumers. These tests are now down to the range of $100 -$2,000 depending on the nature and complexity of the test, MedlinePlus states. For comparison, the 1990’s Human Genome Project cost $2.7 billion.

In terms of biotechnology companies, this major price reduction means personalized treatment plans are now realistic options. Using drugs based on a specific patient’s genetic and molecular makeup, the theory is these individualized medicines should be more effective at treating that patient than a more broad-spectrum drug, a different XTalks article states.

More than one-third of all new drugs approved in 2020 were personalized. This was the third time in the last four years this approval level was reached, the Personalized Medicine Coalition mentioned in PR Newswire.

In 2020 alone, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 19 personalized therapies, one cell-based immuno-therapy and eight diagnostic applications the agency’s “Personalized Medicine at FDA: Scope and Significance of Progress in 2020” states. One of them was the first chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell-based immuno-therapy for treating patients with refractory mantle cell lymphoma. This method holds promise for better cancer care.

The FDA also released seven guideline documents related to the manufacturing and clinical development of gene and cell-based therapy products. Another highlight of the 2020 report was the approval of a pan-tumor liquid biopsy next-generation sequencing-based test as a companion diagnostic device for multiple biomarkers in cell-free DNA isolated from plasma specimens. The method permits testing without using more invasive methods in some patients.

Updated Biotech Can Boost Food Production

Variations of the same general gene-editing tools of biotechnology used to develop therapies for treating humans can also be used to create more robust crops. Among highlights cited in March 2020 BCC Research report “Agricultural Biotechnology: Emerging Technologies and Global Markets” is that DNA sequencing, RNA interference, synthetic biology tools, and gene editing will all have an impact on growing that market through 2024 and likely beyond.

The effect will be the ability to provide higher yields with equal nutritional value for humans and livestock in smaller spaces. At the same time, improved biotech methods applied to agriculture will permit growing crops in harsher climates than those currently farmed.

The Bottom Line

Emerging and evolving computer technologies such as AI, when combined with enterprise business applications, are helping biotech companies work faster, creating new products in less time and with dramatically lower costs, than ever before.

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Biotech Industry Challenges and their Technology-Powered Solutions
Biotech Industry Challenges and their Technology-Powered Solutions 700 500 Xcelpros Team

At a Glance

  • In the biotechnology and life sciences industry, the product’s end quality depends on the product lifecycle management process. It is essential to optimize and streamline these processes while making automation an irreplaceable component.
  • Apart from the need to expedite adaption of modern-day technology across the board, the biotech industry also evaluates tools that ranks high on ROI.
  • The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has put the biotech industry at the front and center in terms of the need for faster tests and development of a vaccine and/ or therapeutics. This unprecedented set of events has brought forward even more pressing challenges in biotechnology manufacturing.

The biotech industry is synonymous with cutting-edge research for drugs, better health products, and more. This means the industry needs to evaluate itself for its technological quotient continually. The evaluation will also enable biotech and life sciences companies to know their exact challenges and pain areas. If we look at recent times (past decade), one of the prominent areas that require companies and researchers’ attention is biotechnology manufacturing. While the industry itself is projected to thrive, it is not devoid of some pressing issues that need to be addressed with robust IT reframing.

The global biotechnology industry growth is estimated to reach $727.1 billion by 2025, and at a CAGR of 7.4%.– Grand View Research

These numbers are both exciting and intimidating. Now is the time for the biotechnology sector to invest in fortifying their IT infrastructure to overcome their challenges and stand tall in the coming era of growth in demand.

Let us dive deep into the biotech sector’s five major problems in biotechnology and discuss technologies, tools, and systems to enable manufacturers to overcome these issues.

1.Challenges Pertaining to Funding/ Investments:Yes, the challenges faced by the biotechnology industry begin even before scientists step inside the lab! Venture capitalists are highly cautious in investing in biotech firms. Part of the reason is that the biotech/ life sciences/ pharmaceutical industries are slow-moving industries tied with many regulations. There is a fine line between drug/process acceptance and rejection. Another challenge in this area is the lack of a proper channel that can facilitate precise tracking of funds and generate insightful reports to make investors aware of the money spent. Lack of analytical insights also means that the current or potential investors do not get future predictions, which are readily available in other industries such as software and automobile.

How can Technology Answer These Challenges? Biotechnology companies should look into comprehensive Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems that will enable them to track expenses and tie them back to their funding. An advanced ERP system equipped with advanced analytics features can help leverage data to generate insightful predictions and statistics.

2.Lack of Skillset:Across the board, there is a drying of talent pool for biotech experts who are adept in core subjects and technological applications. This creates a hindrance in quality production. Companies often struggle to keep their employees up-to-date with the latest happenings in the biotech industry. Personnel on the ground are not always aware of the industry trends as they are busy moving the day-to-day processes forward. Also, arranging skill upgrade training is a costly and time-consuming affair. However, the skill gap is a significant issue. Experts stress the perils of obsolete skillset and the importance of recruiting and retaining a highly-skilled workforce in biotech companies.

What Technological Solutions help Overcome Skill Gap?First off, it is crucial to choose agile, easy to use, simple to onboard applications to run everyday operations without losing the ability to capture the power of data. You don’t want to compromise the system in the effort of keeping it simple. Secondly, there are various learning and development platforms available that include individual training tools for employees. The ideal ones are embedded into the ERP system that behaves as a task recording guide. These automated platforms enable ease of access and ensure training completion without the need for individualized supervision.

3.Disconnect with Customer Expectation and Lack of Market Reading:Like any other industry, the biotech industry also faces challenges if there is a disconnect with its customers. Many companies also rely on conventional methods to read the market and gauge demands. Often there is a disconnect in the market demands vs. the in-house standards. However, this type of disconnect leads to poor customer satisfaction and misplaced product placements.

What Role Does Software Play in Establishing Better Customer Relations?A newer, more advanced AI-based customer relationship management (CRM) system tied to an operations system or ERP system can enable biotech firms to enhance their customer outreach and expedite response time. Moreover, CRM is also used to make better market predictions through thorough data analysis and trend studies.

4.Non-streamlined Supply Chains:A companies’ output is only as strong as its input – primarily people, process and software. This is also true in the case of maintaining a robust supply chain network. The Covid-19 pandemic saw disrupted supply chains because of grounded airlines and travel restrictions across various countries globally. There was also a major shift in demand of raw material, resulting in chain reaction of changes across supply chains. Such events need an agile, streamlined and optimized supply chain wherein different departments work in tandem and information is cascaded in real-time.

Figure 1:Leveraging the power of Data Science in Biotech

Leveraging the power of Data Science in Biotech

How can Biotech Companies Make Use of the Latest Technologies to streamline supply chain?The answer is an agile cloud-based ERP platform that includes the following feature set –

  • proactive planning and tracking workforce hours to a project.
  • providing supply-demand signals while procuring raw material and shipping samples.
  • process automation and approval workflows.
  • embedded training portals.
  • increased process visibility and data management.
  • real-time collaboration across various suppliers.

A robust application helps in better inventory management, communication and an overall optimized supply chain that can respond well to changes. The primary emphasis should be on moving towards newer systems and gradually letting go of legacy software. This will help the biotech industry leverage the full benefit of Industry 4.0 and make the most of its potential.

Key Takeaways:

  • Biotech companies need to rethink operations as a technology-powered ecosystem to expedite their process and ensure products are ready for quicker commercialization.
  • Modern-day AI-based ERP, SCM and CRM systems are crucial in enabling the biotech sector to become agile and more responsive.

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Key Applications of Data Science in the Biotechnology Industry
Key Applications of Data Science in the Biotechnology Industry 700 500 Xcelpros Team

At a Glance

  • Genomics is an intricate facet of biotechnology that requires storing and analyzing humongous amounts of data. Cutting-edge data science trends have brought a transformation in the way genomics is studied worldwide.
  • Biotechnology deals with the extraction, reaction and manipulation of molecules in living beings. These processes will expedite safely and systematically with the help of the advancements in data science.
  • Every day, there is a humongous amount of data generated by various private and government-funded biotech firms. Data science is crucial in establishing interconnectivity amongst these biotechnology entities to share the knowledge database.
  • Companies are faced with newer variants of diseases every few years and this requires gene sequencing of microorganisms at a much faster rate to help in drug and vaccine development. Newer technologies developed in the field of data science can be pivotal to help with the endeavor.

Industries have advanced with the knowledge and application of biotechnology. From facilitating clinical trials of drugs and vaccines to genetic alterations in crops for better yield, biotechnology has been crucial in transforming the way we live our lives. Now, how does biotechnology cross paths with data science? The answer to this question is multi-layered. The last decade has seen unprecedented advancements in the way data has been leveraged, stored, analyzed, shared and applied to derive statistics, build forecast models and solve the mysteries of science. Data science is emerging in biotechnology with the tools and techniques that help scientists systematize their findings and expedite their experiments for better and safer results. Data science is the crucial bridge between knowledge and information. The application of data science is rapidly moving from simply analyzing the existing information to deriving solutions for the future.

By 2021, 66% of analytics processes will no longer simply discover what happened and why; they will also prescribe what should be done.– Ventana Research Assertions

With data science becoming an integral part of how businesses operate, biotechnologists and related industries need to understand its emergence and crucial role. By understanding the applications of data-related tools and techniques, biotechnology can experience positive growth at a much faster rate. Let us look at some of the emerging pivotal data science applications in biotechnology.

1.Field of Advanced Medicinal Development: The field of modern medicine has gained momentum in terms of R&D with data science in biomedical research. Computerized medical records, big data to arrive at plausible diagnoses, automated medicinal kits, genetic coding, computerized molecular studies for drug and vaccine development, etc., are the technological boons of data science that have made it possible for companies to make unprecedented advancements in the field of medicine.

2.Developments in the Field of Agriculture:Scientists across the globe tout the systematic use of algorithms, computerized statistics and data analysis capabilities to advance the genetic studies of various crops. This has made it possible for them to experiment on the plants at a molecular level in the lab to shortlist the best yield. This saves time, effort and money while giving the best results with the combination of botanists, biotechnologists and data scientists. Apart from scientists, data science is also useful for farmers. Many mobile applications are being developed for the farmers to study best practices to grow crops, compare the prices and availability of seeds, fertilizers, and other farming essentials in their locality and get expert advice online. The data generated and leveraged in these apps can join together to create a library of references for the large farming community.

3.Mitigating the Damage to the Environment:Biotechnology is genuinely a way of giving back to nature by modifying existing systems and deriving new ones to minimize environmental damages. Now, one might ask what role data science can play in establishing ecological sustainability. Well, data is at the core of knowing the problem areas- factories with concerning amounts of emissions, agricultural sites that are in dire need of water conservation, landfills with immense amounts of non-degradable waste, etc. With the help of computerized tools, this data can be collected, stored and categorized to implement solutions. The solutions and best practices can also be shared via data science tools with other such areas, thus creating a chain of positive environmental practices.

Figure 1:Leveraging the Power of Data Science Applications in Biotechnology Industry

Leveraging the Power of Data Science Applications in Biotechnology Industry

The areas discussed above are prime examples of how data science applications are emerging in the biotechnology industry. Experts worldwide are working hard towards coming up with newer tools, techniques and solutions with which data can change the way biotechnology research is performed and results are derived. The coming decade will be vital in changing the way we apply data-driven analysis and solutions to bring about positive transformation in biotechnology and its related fields.

Key Takeaways

  • Data science has moved on from merely becoming an analytical field to becoming a supportive pillar for reasoning and research in the biotechnology industry.
  • Leveraging data with the latest tools and techniques is helping bio technicians in expediting research and development processes while mitigating manual errors.
  • Biotechnology applications in medicine, agriculture, environment and more such fields have transformed with the help of advancements in data science.
  • While data science is emerging in biotechnology, there are still many milestones to be achieved to unleash its unlimited potential.

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Artificial Intelligence in the Biotechnology – 5 Key Trends
Artificial Intelligence in the Biotechnology – 5 Key Trends 700 500 Xcelpros Team

At a Glance

  • The biotech industry is witnessing unprecedented demand on many fronts. Companies are looking to invest in fast-paced innovation, systematic storage of massive research data, analysis of humongous databases, and meticulous management of the business processes. AI-enabled applications play a crucial role in meeting these demands.
  • Machine learning, robotics, informatics, and AI branches can help in expanding the horizons of the biotechnology industry and move towards newer possibilities.

AI-led Transformation of the Biotech Industry and Its Positive Effects

The Biotechnology industry is currently relying heavily on storage, filtration, analysis, and the exchange of data. Massive databases are maintained by biotechnology companies and various health organizations worldwide. Drug manufacturing, chemical analysis of different compounds, sequencing of RNA and DNA, enzyme studies, and other similar biological processes require the strong support of computerized tools and applications to gain pace and reduce manual errors.

Today, the world is witnessing an unprecedented health emergency in terms of the Coronavirus pandemic. Economies are collapsing, countries are under lockdown, and all hopes are pinned on the biotechnology industry to come up with a safe, effective vaccine in the shortest possible time frame. The use of Artificial Intelligence in biotechnology and related applications play a crucial role in managing biological processes, boosting medicine production, handling supply chains, and taking care of the pool of data for this industry.

Increased and better predictability for both structured and unstructured data helps companies in planning their operations accordingly for enhanced productivity and a faster pace of work.

Figure 1Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Different Fields of Biotechnology

Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Different Fields of Biotechnology artwork

Leading biotech companies are investing in advanced AI tools to:

  • Analyze research data
  • Accelerate vaccine development
  • Classify the target market and demographic
  • Identify the right ingredient to produce the vaccine

86%of current or planned AI spending is in customer-oriented areas, with marketing and sales leading the pack

 

$1.2 TNestimated additional revenue/ shifting revenue driven by AI in three years

 

While there are still many unknowns when it comes to a successful coronavirus vaccine, this US biotech firm has applied artificial intelligence to accelerate the process of vaccine development.

The biotechnology sector will leverage artificial intelligence and its related applications with vigor in the coming years. According to an article for Medium by Melanie Matheu, Ph.D., the next generation of therapeutics entering drug pipelines will contain targets selected by AI screening, likely improving the 86% clinical trial failure rates for small molecules.

The biotechnology industry has various sub-sectors ranging from human life sciences, food industry, agricultural biotechnology, animal biotechnology, and industrial applications. These branches can all leverage the advancements seen in artificial intelligence and machine learning related applications developed in the past decade, including five key AI trends that will transform the biotechnology industry, listed below.

The Application of AI is Shifting More Towards Knowledge Workers

79%agree AI and related technologies are having a transformational impact on workflows and tools for knowledge workers

 

80% say that placing powerful AI-fueled application in the hands of knowledge workers is critical to productivity and performance

 

84% agree AI streamlines processes, freeing knowledge workers for move creative, intuitive and laterally thinking activities

 

Source: Microsoft

01Boosting Innovations: From Lab to the Market

The past decade has witnessed the need for fast-tracked innovation, production and deployment of medicines, industrial chemicals, food-grade chemicals, and other biochemistry-related raw material. AI in Biotech plays a crucial role in boosting innovation not only in the laboratories but also throughout the lifecycle of a medicine or chemical compound (right to the point where it reaches the market). Based on the target market, AI-based tools and applications help in developing the structure of molecules. Machine learning, a subset of artificial intelligence, helps in calculating permutations and combinations of various chemicals to know the right combination, without having to perform the experiments in the lab through manual processes. The use of artificial intelligence in biotechnology is bringing innovations that can help in predictive analysis to forecast the demand for a particular medicine or a chemical in the market. AI in Biotech can also help in managing the smart distribution of the raw material required by the biotechnology industry through the use of cloud computing.

Figure 2Functionalities of AI in Biotech Industry

Functionalities of AI in Biotech Industry

02Open Source AI Platforms: Faster Data Analysis

Scientists across the globe are looking at AI programs that can take over the tedious nature of data maintenance and data analysis. Tasks like gene editing, enzyme compositions, chemical studies, and such crucial informatics are analyzed systematically for faster and more accurate results. Open-source AI programs such as CRISPR libraries and H2O.ai are playing an essential role on this front by relieving lab assistants of repetitive tasks like data entries and analysis. By eliminating manual functions for healthcare providers and scientists, they can better focus their efforts on innovation-driven processes and it will be possible with the use of artificial intelligence in biotechnology.

03Pushing the Boundaries of Agricultural Biotechnology: Increasing Quality and Quantity

Biotechnology plays a crucial role in genetically modifying plants to develop more and better crops. AI-based tools become essential to this process of genetic modification to study the features of the crop, to note down and compare qualities, and to forecast plausible yield. Apart from these tools, robotics, an arm of artificial intelligence, is being used by the agricultural biotechnology industry for packaging, harvesting, and other essential tasks. AI in biotech also helps in planning the upcoming patterns in the movement of material by combining weather forecasts, data on the nature of farmlands, and the availability of seeds, manure, and pesticides.

04Discovery of New Drugs and Vaccines: Shrinking the Timeline

In a globalized world, newer diseases have a fast way to spread across continents. Thus, the biotechnology industry is at a race against time to develop newer drugs and vaccines to be able to contain such diseases. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are vital in speeding up the process of recognizing the right molecules, helping in synthesizing them in the labs, data analysis for efficacy, and it supplies to the market. Operations, which would usually take 5-10 years, have now been shrunk to 2-3 years with the use of artificial intelligence in biotechnology.

Figure 3Subsets of Artificial Intelligence in Biotechnology

Subsets of Artificial Intelligence in Biotechnology

05Facilitating Global Connect: Sharing Biotechnology Developments Worldwide

AI platforms are resourceful in letting scientists across the globe have access to imperial data regarding newer medicines and other industrial developments. Many machine learning tools are assisting scientists in decoding data and understanding patterns of a particular disease in a far-away country and utilizing it to build analytical models for their geography. The accuracy of scientific models has increased by several folds, after the introduction of AI in Biotech.

While these are the key trends, AI and related tools are helping in transforming the biotechnology industry in many ways. Coming times will see the use of artificial intelligence in biotechnology for the betterment of humankind by the progress it facilitates in the fields of biosciences and technologies.

The power of integration of Microsoft’s AI with Microsoft Dynamics 365 helps biotech companies get over the industry’s pressing challenges. Hindrances such as resource management, stringent regulations, quality management, etc., and establishes seamless workflow by ensuring unified data sharing, visibility, and connectivity across diverse channels and operations so that teams better communicate.

This collaboration with the use of artificial intelligence in biotechnology helps your company to

  • Achieve regulatory compliance
  • Gain visibility into your supply chain management
  • Track and control your inventory with accuracy, and
  • Integrate industry best practices for corrective and preventive action

Finally, the digital transformation achieved with the Full Microsoft Suite gives you data in real-time to make smart and actionable business decisions to spur company growth.

Key Takeaways

  • The biotechnology industry has progressed significantly with the application of AI and related computerized tools.
  • Be it medical, industrial or agricultural biotechnology, AI, machine learning, and robotics play critical roles in pushing the boundaries of possibilities in these fields.

Using our years of industry experience in the biotech, life sciences, and pharmaceutical industries, we suggest and help our customers with the best ways to reduce costs and mitigate implementation risks. We work with you throughout the implementation, so that you can quickly identify, address, and record any production, shipping or quality control risks, events, and complaints. A personalized, flexible D365 dashboard equips your teams to trigger a hold on products throughout the supply chain autonomously, launch nonconformance reports, send notifications to managers when test results hit a certain threshold or when a specific research milestone deadline is compromised.

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Top Concerns of Biotechnology Industry Current Issues
Top Concerns of Biotechnology Industry Current Issues 700 500 Xcelpros Team

At a Glance

  • The world has turned its hopes towards biotech companies to reduce the spread and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • The biotech industry is working continuously towards fortifying healthcare systems, enabling serosurveillance to gauge the spread of disease in a community and to aid in the development of a vaccine.
  • With governments across the globe funding research and production costs to enable biotech companies to win this battle against time, there are various operational, technological, and workforce concerns that these companies face that need to be addressed with strategic maneuvering from the apex.

Introduction

The Biotech and Life Sciences industry is one of the most sought after sectors this year in conjunction with the pharmaceutical industry as a solution to the current Covid-19 pandemic. Health experts across the globe have agreed that highly effective treatments, including the development of a vaccine, would be needed to reduce and eventually stop the spread of novel coronavirus, allowing cultures around the world to get back to normal activity. While some countries have fared better than others in handling the Covid-19 health crisis, there are still looming fears of new waves. Current Biotechnology issues are expected to normalize with an effective antidote or vaccine.

While the biotech industry sprung into action to begin developing a solution almost immediately, there’s still a long way to go. Challenges faced by biotechnology have been as real as the crisis itself. While the biotech and life sciences industry has a primary role in addressing pandemics like that of COVID-19, it’s not immune to economic downturns, supply chain disruptions, workforce shortage, or any other challenges.

Below are some of the pain points that the Biotech and Life Sciences industry are facing:

01.Roadblocks and Hurdles

All over the world, various biopharma companies, both privately and through government-funded efforts, are performing clinical trials for different potential vaccines and drugs. In 63 days after the genome sequence of the novel coronavirus was shared with the world, USA’s Moderna Biotech Inc. had developed its mRNA candidate to battle the pandemic. Being able to move at a pace never seen before requires immense talent, robust AI-enabled software setup to perform bioinformatics processes, and exceptional R&D infrastructure.

The journey from vaccine development to approval and administration on a global scale is wrought with numerous additional steps and hurdles, requiring mobilization of assets and task forces, recruitment of volunteers, conducting clinical trials, collation, and analysis of humongous amounts of data, smoothly operating supply chains, enormous monetary investments, and a well-equipped production and distribution infrastructure.

02.Collateral Delays

The spread of the coronavirus pandemic brought most of the world to a screeching halt, with many businesses having been forced to close. A result of this is disruptions to major clinical trials and research work on medicines and vaccines for other life-threatening diseases like cancer, HIV, autoimmune diseases, etc. These are collateral delays, and the biotech industry is now challenged with not ignoring existing health issues while still focusing on developing a solution for the ongoing pandemic.

03.Global Distribution

Health experts and top executives at significant biotech companies agree that even if we succeed in making an effective vaccine for Covid-19, there would be a need for immense strategic and operational changes in the current global and local supply chains to ensure that it’s produced and distributed to everyone around the world. With disruptions to most supply chains, only adding to challenges faced by the Biotechnology industry, it will be interesting to see how these organizations address these issues.

Figure 1Covid-19 Vaccine Development in Phases: The Role of Biotech and Pharma

Covid-19 Vaccine Development in Phases: The Role of Biotech and Pharma artwork

04.ROI

A global health crisis of this scale requires a humanitarian approach to ensuring treatment is available to all. This is why most pharmaceutical and biotech companies have agreed that the first or even second batches of any drugs or vaccines they produce(should they prove to be valid) will be distributed at non-profitable rates. We shouldn’t, however, neglect the current biotechnology issues who are investing millions of dollars in rising to the occasion. These organizations will need a blueprint for steady business growth and monetary returns in the post-COVID era.

05.Remote Solutions

Now more than ever, biotech companies need highly skilled and experienced scientists, health experts, and paramedical personnel who can make this journey towards vaccine development smooth. With most businesses still not fully operational to support new workplace requirements, more remote access solutions will have to be developed and embraced to keep operations moving forward.

Role of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain in Biotech Companies

We have spoken about some ongoing challenges faced by the biotechnology industry in the war against Covid-19. It is important to note that current biotechnology issues are handled with strategic realignment and robust Enterprise Resource Planning tools. An ERP system such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain enables biotech companies of all sizes to optimize their supply chains, mitigate costs on manual labor, avoid redundant efforts, automate billing cycles, and other enterprise-level processes.

Key Takeaways

These are challenging times for organizations in the Biotech and Life Sciences industry. They now, more than any other sector, continue to work at unprecedented speeds to help the world end this global crisis. Billions of lives are at stake, waiting anxiously for a solution to the ongoing pandemic. There are many challenges that the biotech sector needs to address from disrupted supply chains to the need for multi-layered coordination for clinical trials. With strategic intervention by strong leadership and the use of modern robust tools, these challenges and more, can all be overcome.

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