Emerging challenges and opportunities in pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Sarkis, Miriam
Bernardi, Andrea
Shah, Nilay
Papathanasiou, Maria M
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The rise of personalised and highly complex drug product profiles necessitates significant advancements in pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution. Efforts to develop more agile, responsive, and reproducible manufacturing processes are being combined with the application of digital tools for seamless communication between process units, plants, and distribution nodes. In this paper, we discuss how novel therapeutics of high-specificity and sensitive nature are reshaping well-established paradigms in the pharmaceutical industry. We present an overview of recent research directions in pharmaceutical manufacturing and supply chain design and operations. We discuss topical challenges and opportunities related to small molecules and biologics, dividing the latter into patient- and non-specific. Lastly, we present the role of process systems engineering in generating decision-making tools to assist manufacturing and distribution strategies in the pharmaceutical sector and ultimately embrace the benefits of digitalised operations.
Date Issued
2021-03-01
Date Acceptance
2021-02-25
Citation
Processes, 2021, 9 (3), pp.1-16
ISSN
2227-9717
Publisher
MDPI AG
Start Page
1
End Page
16
Journal / Book Title
Processes
Volume
9
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
© 2021 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000634249400001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Grant Number
EP/R013764/1
Subjects
Science & Technology
Technology
Engineering, Chemical
Engineering
pharmaceutical manufacturing
process systems engineering
Industry 4.0
digitalisation
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 457
Date Publish Online
2021-03-03