On the road to maturity

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claim automation is worth $60 billion in the pharma industry alone. With a number of benefits like multiple recipes handling, human error elimination, better safety, increased productivity and the electronic documentation, many of the pharmaceutical manufacturing companies have adopted automation as a standard feature for the operation and control of their machines. While the manufacturing floor is equipped with advanced automation systems with networking capability and supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA), the quality control laboratories have also benefited from the advancement in automation technologies.

Unfortunately, Indian pharma industry has been a laggard in its adoption, especially the SME segment, which plays a key role in sourcing raw materials. So far, only big pharma companies like Ranbaxy, Cipla, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, etc have made serious forays into automation.

Investments in automation include automating the facility by building management system, access control for security purpose, process control system, batch records and manufacturing executing systems, besides ERP and supply chain management.

“Pharma companies are likely to take different steps forward as they reshape their strategies and infrastructure to prepare for future developments. But the starting point has to be the vision where the company wants to be in a period of 10-15 years and how this will impact manufacturing methods and practices,’’ says Venkat Jasti, chairman, Suven Life Sciences Ltd.

According to Jasti, operational effectiveness and profit pressures require manufacturing to contribute and the industry has to work together to enable a compliant manufacturing environment that delivers products to plan with minimal cost and risk. The role of automation technologies is thus crucial in facilitating processes that enable measurement and control, ensure optimum efficiency and increase productivity. Automation is also the key in maintaining consistency and quality, and conforming to safety, environmental and a host of other stringent regulatory standards.

One of the main challenges in automation is the lack of awareness. Analysts say it is bound to enhance productivity and create a platform for safe and audited operations. In terms of cost, it is only 4-10% of the total project cost, which can yield 2-3 times improvement in production and quality consistency, says Singh. Interestingly, there is integration among pharma companies, wherein the control system and the enterprise system are getting converted.