Automating Data Analytics Addresses Business Drivers, Accelerates Transition To Bioprocessing 4.0

By Merrilee Whitney

The race is on to get biotherapeutics to market faster as every day of delay is delayed access for patients and can result in millions in lost revenue. Following successful Industry 4.0 implementation in the automotive, communications, aerospace, and other industries, the biopharmaceutical industry is now joining the digital revolution to meet the manufacturing challenges of today and tomorrow.

To fully appreciate the need for Bioprocessing 4.0, it is useful to take a step back and consider the industry’s business drivers. The BioPhorum Operations Group (BPOG)—an industry consortia that seeks to create environments where the global biopharmaceutical industry can collaborate and accelerate their path to Bioprocessing 4.0—released a technology roadmap that outlines four major business drivers:

• Speed: Reducing new facility build times by 70%; compressing production lead times by 80%;
• Quality: Boosting manufacturing robustness by a factor of 10, thereby reducing waste caused by poor quality by 90%;
• Cost: Reducing manufacturing and capital expenditure costs by 90%; and,
• Flexibility: Reducing product changeover time by 90%.