The innovation of the blockchain is about to revolutionize the finance sector. In this context, it is particularly interesting how the technology will develop and which implications will be used in other industries. Given the great amount of money spent by pharmaceutical companies on development, research & development and manufacturing, the blockchain will gain tremendous amounts of opportunity and traction within this industry and this article will be especially focusing on the benefits blockchain applications may bring to this highly regulated market which relies on compliance with strict regulations and industry standards.
As a method of user validation, proof of work and smart contracts, the blockchain technology may change how organizations manage and record data, by providing security and transparency for all stakeholders. In the pharmaceutical industry, drug development requires certain series of protocols and processes to take place. Data is acquired in one department and required to be transferred to another, drugs are transferred to wholesale distributers prior to delivery to the patient, patient data integrity needs to be maintained and the access to such data controlled, to name just a few examples. Of major concern throughout the drug development and distribution process are patient safety, product quality and data integrity, which puts the use of validated transparent & secured technology at center stage of these processes. This clearly offers an opportunity for blockchain applications to enhance and simplify current processes. Due to the existence of manifold possible implications of the blockchain technology in the pharmaceutical industry, a group of Pharma Professionals, Blockchain experts and regulatory advisors have collaboratively started the BlockRx Project, which is the first global pharma initiative using blockchain as the model for drug development, manufacturing and distribution.