Policy think tank Niti Aayog recently said that it is working with Apollo Hospitals and Oracle to use Blockchain technology in pharmaceutical supply chain management for complete traceability of drugs from manufacturer to consumers. The fact is the drug industry continues to battle spurious and counterfeit drugs which lie within the supply chain and has its effect on the export volumes. In an interaction, Debapriya Nandan, senior director and head, Public Sector Business Development, Oracle India, tells BV Mahalakshmi that drug makers currently lack an effective way to secure and track the provenance of drugs or access the data required to combat counterfeit drug sales. Excerpts:

How are emerging technologies  like Blockchain helping pharma companies?

The Indian pharmaceutical industry is the third largest in the world in terms of volume, accounting for 10% of the world’s production. With exports to more than 200 countries, India is the world leader in the production of generic drugs and vaccines. However, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 35% of the fake drugs sold all over the world comes from India and it occupies the counterfeit drug market of nearly
Rs 4,000 crore.

The problem of fake and counterfeit drugs within the supply chain is a huge problem that costs the pharma industry billions and puts the patients at a higher risk. This is where Blockchain can play the most critical role in the pharmaceutical industry today.

Blockchain is a decentralised digital ledger that records and transfers data in a fast, secure, and transparent manner. A Blockchain based drug supply chain will have all the required entities like the manufacturer, distributors (3PL), pharmacist and patient on a trusted network powered by Blockchain.

What are the new technologies being adopted by pharma companies and how is the adoption rate in India?

Digital transformation is sweeping the pharmaceutical and health sciences industries, enabling companies to accelerate the pace of innovation. Data access via the cloud, combined with Blockchain, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, are delivering faster, better and more actionable insights for researchers and investigators developing and managing clinical trials as well as drug manufacturers.

With the help of real world data and AI, pharma companies can make sense of big data to hasten and improve the process of drug discovery/drug development. Artificial intelligence tools are being used in clinical trials to assess the suitability of a patient based on data like medical records, physical examination and tests, etc.

Mobile technology is also bringing about a revolution of sorts with the enablement of digital health and trials. Wearable devices from specialised sensors to smart watches and many other m-health devices are becoming commonplace, providing a wealth of information.

What role is Oracle playing in bringing Blockchain technology?

Modern pharma companies understand the importance of being patient-centric and are already starting to think about how emerging technologies will drive their digital transformations and deliver business value as well. In order to champion the cause of these companies, Oracle has developed the Blockchain Cloud Service (BCS), an enterprise-grade, distributed ledger platform designed to support new DLT applications and extend ERP, supply chain management (SCM), other enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS) and license applications by enabling enterprises to conduct business-to-business transactions securely and at scale across a trusted network with tamper-proof digital records.