due to the high cost of entrance, may drive inequalities vs patients. Hence, the need
for a strong governance body that would regulate the transparency of data usage,
data privacy, and type of personalized treatment.
Let us consider what it could mean for a single individual as a patient: the pairing
of the virtual and physical worlds allows analysis of real-time data and monitoring of
responses to treatments, as well as tracking the results of behavior and lifestyle
modification, to prevent any type of disease prior to their occurrence. For example, a
wearable sensor (iWatch, fitbit, Oura ring, etc.) could track a patient’s blood
pressure, body temperature and link that information, as well as data on the patient’s
lifestyle and genetic characteristics, to a digital twin. Consequently, a doctor can
develop and test upfront on the virtual twin the most suitable medical plan and
lifestyle recommendations that, upon positive confirmation, could then be
implemented on the “living” patient.
Another example, within the Healthcare industry, could come from virtualizing a
hospital system to create a safe environment in which to test the impact of potential
change on system performance. One of the most typical issues that hospitals face is
the dilemma between immediate availability of medicines, stock management due to
limited space, and the relative lifecycle of drugs that may create “expired medicines.” A digital twin can simulate these complex scenarios and identify the right
trade-off between inventory on-hold and availability of medicines.
Furthermore, there are many potential use cases for digital twins in R&D and
OPERATIONS (Manufacturing and Supply Chain) including real-time monitoring,
simulation, modeling, and virtual (remote) control of physical assets. Digital twin is
playing a key role in manufacturing process development and many operations
processes optimization, in harmonizing products with processes and in defining a
holistic process control strategy and ultimately realizing the concept of “Quality by
design” (QbD). The QbD is a systematic approach in pharmaceutical drug development to ensure predefined product quality by identifying and understanding the
impact of all critical process parameters (CPP) on all and critical product quality
attributes (CQA). The use of digital twins helps the pharmaceutical industry in
aiming for the reduction of drug development and manufacturing cost as well as
reducing the timelines for getting drug candidates to the patient.
The fast progress in IoT will certainly accelerate the adoption of this technology.
In fact, according to a recent Gartner research, 75% of the companies using IoT in
manufacturing will develop a Digital Twin within 12–18 months.
Finally, in the next section, we will make a deeper dive into two real case studies
of digital twins implemented in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry.
Digital Twins: A General Overview of the Biopharma Industry
177
for a strong governance body that would regulate the transparency of data usage,
data privacy, and type of personalized treatment.
Let us consider what it could mean for a single individual as a patient: the pairing
of the virtual and physical worlds allows analysis of real-time data and monitoring of
responses to treatments, as well as tracking the results of behavior and lifestyle
modification, to prevent any type of disease prior to their occurrence. For example, a
wearable sensor (iWatch, fitbit, Oura ring, etc.) could track a patient’s blood
pressure, body temperature and link that information, as well as data on the patient’s
lifestyle and genetic characteristics, to a digital twin. Consequently, a doctor can
develop and test upfront on the virtual twin the most suitable medical plan and
lifestyle recommendations that, upon positive confirmation, could then be
implemented on the “living” patient.
Another example, within the Healthcare industry, could come from virtualizing a
hospital system to create a safe environment in which to test the impact of potential
change on system performance. One of the most typical issues that hospitals face is
the dilemma between immediate availability of medicines, stock management due to
limited space, and the relative lifecycle of drugs that may create “expired medicines.” A digital twin can simulate these complex scenarios and identify the right
trade-off between inventory on-hold and availability of medicines.
Furthermore, there are many potential use cases for digital twins in R&D and
OPERATIONS (Manufacturing and Supply Chain) including real-time monitoring,
simulation, modeling, and virtual (remote) control of physical assets. Digital twin is
playing a key role in manufacturing process development and many operations
processes optimization, in harmonizing products with processes and in defining a
holistic process control strategy and ultimately realizing the concept of “Quality by
design” (QbD). The QbD is a systematic approach in pharmaceutical drug development to ensure predefined product quality by identifying and understanding the
impact of all critical process parameters (CPP) on all and critical product quality
attributes (CQA). The use of digital twins helps the pharmaceutical industry in
aiming for the reduction of drug development and manufacturing cost as well as
reducing the timelines for getting drug candidates to the patient.
The fast progress in IoT will certainly accelerate the adoption of this technology.
In fact, according to a recent Gartner research, 75% of the companies using IoT in
manufacturing will develop a Digital Twin within 12–18 months.
Finally, in the next section, we will make a deeper dive into two real case studies
of digital twins implemented in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry.
Digital Twins: A General Overview of the Biopharma Industry
177