Digital transformation remains a key focus for UK healthcare and biopharma markets

As a follow up to my last blog post on IoT technology driving growth in the healthcare sector, The Manufacturer published a Siemen’s study showing digital transformation is a key focus for the UK and Irish biopharmaceutical sector; this will be important at the speed the UK market is growing. The UK market is estimated to surpass £12bn in 2022, with worldwide markets averaging a growth rate of 10% a per year.

The UK and Ireland remain the top spot for inward investment in Europe, and ranks number two globally behind the US. The UK market has grown its domestic industry with more than 56,00 companies, producing the strongest research and development in Europe. 

 Here are the key findings from the study:

• The independent research engaged 31 key players in the UK and Irish biopharmaceutical sector to discover key areas for business improvement. The study was conducted between late 2019 and early 2022, covering the period affected by the global pandemic.
•  Translating digitalisation into value for Pharma and Life Sciences manufacturing remains a key focus for many but the challenges of speed and efficiency need to be addressed with urgency.
• The findings also reveal that with much of pharmaceutical manufacturing still employing heavy use of paper-based records, the adoption of electronic batch records can help streamline process operations, improve regulatory compliance and reduce operational costs.
• The majority of interviewees highlighted the critical importance of compressing the drug discovery process; in particular, using Industry 4.0 technology to accelerate the speed of new molecule development, such as through computational chemistry and data-driven discovery.

With England’s £2bn Digital Health Plan investment as well, the UK healthcare and biopharma sector is getting a digital revamp. It remains impressive as the top spot for inward investment in Europe, but to remain its title, it needs to focus on its digital transformation

At Polestar, an important sector that we cover is health. If you would like more details in this space, or need help on growing your business, please reach out!