How is robotics influencing Pharma industry? Give the current challenge and future direction.
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Robots in laboratory, life science and pharmaceutical applications perform tasks at rates beyond human
capability.

Robotics have a great influence in pharma industry like manufacturing, in hospitals laboratories etc..

➢ Robotics is called upon to assemble and package a variety of medical devices and implants as well as
preparing prescriptions for mail-order pharmacies or hospitals.

➢ Robots are doing assay analysis and automating the movement of test tubes in research laboratories.

➢ Because of the high number of samples that need analysis and the amount of data collection required,
the process and costs are easily validated with robotics.

➢ In pharmaceutical applications, hospitals use robots to mix potentially hazardous cancer drugs and
those associated with radiation

Robots for filling, inspection, and packaging

• Robotic technology is being used for vial-filling applications on slower speed applications. “Robotic
vial manipulation transfers components from station to station both before and after filling and pack-
off.

• The primary advantage in sterile environments is reduction of risk due to environmental contamination
and contamination generated from human intervention during component transfer

• In addition, productivity is increased because of the accuracy and efficiency of robots, which often
perform at increased speeds and produce less scrap.

• Automatic inspection, as part of a robotic system, has the advantage of enabling 100% part inspection.
Vision-sensing technology can be used in pharmaceutical packaging to verify serialization numbers
for compliance with track-and-trace regulations.

• An advance in vision sensors is color imaging, which, for example, allows systems to distinguish
between bottle caps of different colors.

Clean Room Robots

• Robotic technology is ideal for cleanroom processes, such as aseptic filling, because it eliminates
human contamination risk.

• Robots designed for use in cleanrooms must minimize particulate generation to maintain cleanroom
classifications, typically ISO Class 5 or 6. Cleanability, including minimizing crevices and ensuring
the robot is resistant to cleaning and sterilizing agents, is also a requirement.

• Another requirement is controlling the speed of robot movement to minimize impact on airflow and
particle generation and to a lesser extent, managing heat generation and its impact on the heating,
ventilation, and air-conditioning system of the cleanroom.

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Robots in Laboratory

• Laboratory robotics is the act of using robots in biology or chemistry labs.

• For example, pharmaceutical companies employ robots to move biological or chemical samples
around to synthesize novel chemical entities or to test pharmaceutical value of existing chemical
matter.

• Laboratory processes are suited for robotic automation as the processes are composed of repetitive
movements (e.g. pick/place, liquid & solid additions, heating/cooling, mixing, shaking and testing).

• Automated synthesis originated with peptide and oligonucleotide synthesis. One early example is the
polymerase chain reaction (PCR) which is able to amplify DNA strands using a thermal cycler to
micromanage DNA synthesis by adjusting temperature using a pre-made computer program.

• Since then, automated synthesis has been applied to organic chemistry and expanded into three
categories: reaction-block systems, robot- arm systems, and non-robotic fluidic systems.

Challenges

Expense:

The initial investment of robots is significant, especially when business owners are limiting their
purchases to new robotic equipment.

The cost of automation should be calculated in light of a business greater financial budget. Regular
maintenance needs can have a financial toll as well.

Expertise:

Employees will require training in programming and interacting with the New robotic equipment. This
normally takes time and financial output.

Safety:

Robots may protect workers from some hazards, but in the meantime, their very presence can create
other safety problems. These new dangers must be taken into consideration.

Return on investment (ROI):

Incorporating industrial robots does not guarantee results. Without planning, companies can have
difficulty achieving their goals.

Dangers and fears:

Although current robots are not believed to have developed to the stage where they pose any threat or
danger to society, fears and concerns about robots have been repeatedly expressed in a wide range
of books and films.

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The principle theme is the robots’ intelligence and ability to act could exceed that of humans, that they
could develop a conscience and a motivation to take over or destroy the human race.

Advantages of Pharmaceutical Robots

i. Speed
I. Reduced chances of contamination Accuracy

II. Savings reliability
III. Return on investment
IV. Flexibility
V. Tirelessness

VI. Affordability
VII. Work continuously in any environment

VIII. Safety
IX. Production
X. Tirelessness

XI. Quality

➢ NANO-ROBOTS

• Nano-robots are so tiny machines that they can traverse the human body very easily.

• When a nano-robot enters into the body of a patient would seek for infected cells and would repair
them without causing any damage to the healthy cells.

• The nano-robot will remain outside the cell while the nano- manipulators will penetrate into targeted
or damaged cell thus avoiding any possibility of causing damage to the intracellular skeleton.

• Thus these nano-robots when enter into human bloodstream Provide cell surgery and extreme life
prolongation.

• Each nano-robot by itself will have limited capabilities, but the coordinated effort of a multitude will
produce the desired system level results.

• Coordination is needed across the board for communication, Sensing, and acting and poses a major
research challenge.

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Future direction of robotics in Pharma industry

With Pharma industry growth and the significant costs of new discovery drugs, there is growing demand for
Robotics in the areas of Clinical Trials and drug discovery and the laboratory.

Big Pharma is investing in AI in a big way.

This is all the more evident from GSK’s deal last year with British AI firm, Exscientia.

This could signal a revolution for drug development that could radically speed up the drug discovery process,
helping patients in urgent need of specialist treatments.

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs study predicts that 5 million jobs will be lost before 2020 as
artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnology and other socio-economic factors replace the need for human
workers.

The good news is that those same technological advances will also create upwards of 2 million new jobs.
However, manual and clerical workers who find themselves out of work are unlikely to have the required
skills to compete for the new roles. Most new jobs will be in more specialized areas such as computing,
mathematics, architecture and engineering.

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