The information challenge: the questions being addressed by pharma's innovative knowledge managers embody those facing their industry as a whole

For the era of personalized therapies to truly arrive, industry observers often express the view that pharma will have to improve its understanding not just of biology and medicines, but also of certain new technologies that are likely to determine companies’ future way of working.

From transforming drug discovery and development, as well as strategy and commercialization decisions, to improving packaging and limiting batch variation, the entire industry will have to embrace innovations in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to make companies and healthcare solutions as a whole more efficient and effective – something that shareholders and society alike are demanding.

A question that was asked when the Pharma Documentation Ring (PDR) met in Vienna, Austria, last month for its 60th Annual General Meeting, was whether drugmakers should in fact adapt to becoming technology companies to deliver greater value to patients.