Evaluating the Business Case for Continuous Manufacturing of Pharmaceuticals: A Supply Network Perspective

Abstract

This chapter addresses the challenges of evaluating the business case for continuous manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, looking beyond traditional technical assessments made at the unit operations or individual production facility level. It provides an overview of key concepts, approaches and tools for the early assessment of supply network configuration opportunities enabled by continuous production processing interventions. Multiple levels of analysis are considered with the aid of examples based on major UK research programmes on continuous production process technologies. Particular emphasis is placed on the potential for achieving enhanced product flexibility (in terms of volume and variety) and depending on scale, the optimum number and location of manufacturing operations to support speed to market and system-level cost benefits. In the case of multiple manufacturing operations using continuous production process technologies, where production facility replication through digital twins is becoming a key enabler, the chapter sets out a supply network design and analysis approach that evaluates the commercial and operational viability of alternative manufacturing supply network scenarios.

Continuous manufacturing technologies in upstream pharmaceutical supply chains: Combining engineering and managerial criteria

“…With synthesis steps performed in flow, and ‘in line’ process analytical technologies (Rantanen & Khinast, 2015), it seems plausible to assume that less material storage and fewer ‘end of the pipe’ quality controls are required. Preliminary simulation studies also suggest similar conclusions (Srai et al, 2020). The elimination of intermediary holding stages in CM is likely to benefit the overall time required in production.…”

Building Resilient Health Systems: Patient Safety during COVID-19 and Lessons for the Future

“…Incentivizing or penalising the suppliers based on timeliness, quantities and quality of stock delivered can also improve supply chain. Leveraging alternative vendors and local businesses for additional supplies have also been cited as vital strategy during current crisis (Srai et al, 2020).…”

“…Incentivizing or penalising the suppliers based on timeliness, quantities and quality of stock delivered can also improve supply chain. Leveraging alternative vendors and local businesses for additional supplies have also been cited as vital strategy during current crisis (Srai et al, 2020). • Collective bargaining for better pricing: Centralised pooled procurement drives down the costs based on economies of scale as demonstrated by the Rajasthan's 'Mukyamantri muft dawa yojana' (Hindi words for 'Chief Minister's free Medicine scheme').…”

Digital Twin in the Agri-Food Supply Chain: A Literature Review

“…Dealing with the first phase, we found the work by [17], who proposed an innovative system for improving irrigation; by [18] who presented a model to implement DTs in sustainable agriculture, specifically through the joint creation of physical and digital layers of IoT-enabled structures for vertical farming; by [19], who discuss the possibility of creating a DT of the planet Earth to determine and quantify the environmental impact of innovations in agriculture; by [20], who developed a DT for replicating and simulating a livestock farming to face livestock disorders; finally, by [21] who studied the implementation of DT for aquaponics in the fisheries sector, with control and monitoring purposes. For a complete overview, finally, we mention the literature review by [22], whose focus is on general DT applications in supply chains, but has a section dedicated to the implementation in food contexts and precision agriculture.…”