Digitizing tech transfers to advance biopharma innovation

The indispensable role of tech transfers

Technology transfers are at the heart of pharmaceutical manufacturing organizations. They’re a key component in bringing pharmaceutical products from research and development to initial pharma commercialization and, eventually, to full-scale production. Tech transfers can also be important when outsourcing production to contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs), utilizing alternate production sites to reduce supply risk, and during portfolio transitions such as mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

Suboptimal tech transfers can delay the development or transition of drugs and medical devices, resulting in costly inefficiencies that can slow down entire organizations. Moreover, slow or noncompliant tech transfers may delay product launches or scheduled batches, which may have severe impacts to global supply and product sales. Given their critical nature, executing effective tech transfers is imperative for life sciences companies looking to increase capacity, optimize manufacturing processes, and maintain compliance with global regulatory bodies.

This report explores how digitizing tech transfer capabilities can help transform and accelerate this complex set of activities and disciplines. We define five pillars essential for building a robust digital foundation to execute effectively.

Prioritizing tech transfers for competitive advantage

Optimizing tech transfers involves fostering collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement, which allows organizations to improve quality, compliance, development costs, overall cost, and time to commercialization. Because tech transfers rely on so many different functions working in unison, streamlining efforts can help speed up transfers. Furthermore, bolstering tech transfer capabilities can serve as the foundation for an end-to-end digital thread, which may drive benefits beyond just the tech transfer process.

By investing in digital tools to improve upstream enablers within the tech transfer scope, life sciences companies can get a jump-start on supply chain digitization, improve downstream visibility, and position themselves for long-term success and sustainable growth outcomes. In the face of an ever-shifting landscape of patient circumstances and regulatory requirements, prioritizing effective technology transfers will likely become a competitive advantage in the coming decade.

Charting the path forward

Prioritizing effective tech transfers will likely become a key competitive advantage for companies in the coming decade as the industry navigates a constantly evolving landscape of patient circumstances and regulatory requirements. While digitizing tech transfers may seem daunting, Deloitte’s Life Sciences professionals have in-depth experience around each of these elements. Our team can help you identify meaningful areas to begin developing industry-leading tech transfer processes.

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