MasterControl Among 2019 Pharma Innovation Award Winners

“If you have always done it that way, it is probably wrong.” – Charles Kettering

This pearl of wisdom suggests that Kettering was quite possibly an advocate of innovation and change. If this little gem isn’t enough to inspire ongoing innovation and continuous improvement, a little trip down memory lane might help:

• Mobile phones were once the size of a brick — and equally as useful.
• 640 kilobytes of memory was once considered sufficient.
• Our gaming pastime consisted of watching little white dots bouncing around a monochrome screen.
• Full-length movies were stored on discs the size of a serving tray.

The Dynamics of Innovation

The point is, innovation will always be a good thing. New ideas, better ways of doing things and continuous improvement are crucial — particularly in health care-related industries.

Despite some hesitancy with adopting emerging technologies, the health care industry as a whole is making significant strides toward modernization. From wearable medical devices to mobile medical apps and telemedicine technology, health care is rapidly becoming more digitized and innovative. Much of this is in response to the increasing numbers of patients wanting, and even expecting, to have the latest health care technologies and procedures at their disposal.

Other drivers of modernization are global regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Union (EU) who are updating their regulatory processes to keep up with advancing technologies. In a statement promoting the FDA’s innovation initiatives, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said “Our longstanding goal for medical care is to ensure that the right drug or device is delivered to the right patient at the right time. This vision is increasingly possible with the innovative products that are becoming available.”(1)

More Contributors Joining the Innovation Ranks

Elsewhere across the life sciences industries, other organizations are rallying to help drive the advancement of health care technologies. The Digital Medicine Society (DiMe) was established specifically for the purpose of unifying the digital medicine community. “To thrive as a field, digital medicine requires an unprecedented level of interdisciplinary collaboration. From regulators to white-hat hackers, ethicists to engineers, and clinicians to citizen scientists, new cooperative networks must emerge to ensure that digital medicine realizes its full potential to improve human health.”(2)

For some time, the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) has had a hand in advocating consortium-oriented medical product development. In April 2017, the agency launched a program called the Total Product Life Cycle Initiative to facilitate more seamless collaboration throughout the entire product life cycle management process . At its core, the program fosters more effective connectivity among the multiple stakeholders involved in developing digitized medical devices from cradle to grave.(3)

Pharma Publication Recognizes Top Innovators

The ultimate goal of innovation in life sciences industries is the continued assurance of safe, effective and quality products that help people live healthier lives. One organization that strives to encourage ongoing innovation and give credit where it’s due is Pharma Manufacturing, a pharmaceutical industry publication that “Serves the informational needs of pharma and biopharma professionals in manufacturing and operations.”

The annual Pharma Innovation Awards is Pharma Manufacturing’s way of keeping pharma and biopharma professionals informed about the latest industry developments and offer kudos to companies that are proactively engaged in innovation. MasterControl’s new Manufacturing Excellence™ solution was one of the winners in the Smart Pharma category of this top award.

Where Innovation Counts

MasterControl’s mission is to bring life-changing products to more people sooner. The Manufacturing Excellence solution is designed specifically for that purpose. A common thread in the latest innovation trends is more connectivity and collaboration. MasterControl’s cloud-based technology bridges the gaps between operations, manufacturing and enterprise management systems. It also provides a single source of truth for more effective data and information management.

Ultimately, the solution enables manufacturers to finally remove all paper from the shop floor. Data, production records, reviews and other documents are fully digital, connected and error-free.

In its explanation of why the Manufacturing Excellence solution is award-winning technology, Pharma Manufacturing cut right to the chase: “Survey after industry survey reveals that most pharma production environments still depend on error-prone, paper-based production records, contributing to poor resource utilization, inefficient processes, higher deviation rates and delayed product releases.”

Reiterating Scott Gottlieb’s earlier statement “ … to ensure that the right drug or device is delivered to the right patient at the right time,” MasterControl is committed to helping life sciences companies do just that.

References

1. “FDA’s Comprehensive Effort to Advance New Innovations: Initiatives to Modernize for Innovation,” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, August 29, 2018, https://www.fda.gov/news-events/fda-voices-perspectives-fda-leadership-and-experts/fdas-comprehensive-effort-advance-new-innovations-initiatives-modernize-innovation.
2. Digital Medicine Society (DiMe), https://www.dimesociety.org/.
3. “US FDA Device Center Pushes ‘Total Product Life Cycle’ Concept; ‘Reorganization’ Coming, Says Compliance Chief,” PharmaIntelligence, Apr. 24, 2017, https://pharmaintelligence.informa.com/resources/product-content/us-fda-device-center-pushes-total-product-life-cycle-concept.