The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most important industries for mankind. This industry deals with the drugs that are a crucial part of the medical industry and it is not possible to think of medical treatment without drugs. The projected pharmaceutical market revenue is estimated to reach US$1,155.00bn in 2024. Looking ahead, the revenue in this sector is anticipated to exhibit an annual growth rate (CAGR 2024-2029) of 4.71%, resulting in a market volume of US$1,454.00bn by 2029. When comparing globally, it is noteworthy that the United States is expected to generate the highest revenue of US$630.30bn in 2024.
Many pharmaceutical companies develop, research, and test many drugs every day and supply them to medical organizations. There are many issues that organizations face during the manufacturing and supply of drugs as there are many frauds that happen regularly, resulting in degrading the quality of drugs. During the supply chain, drugs cannot be delivered to the right location within a certain period which results in problems for medical organizations and patients. Also, there are many issues related to market trends faced by the pharmaceutical industry due to a lack of insights. All these issues are created because of the lack of proper tracking and tracing mechanics across the world’s pharmaceutical industry.
Overview
The Track and Trace Solutions Market size is expected to reach USD 3.09 billion in 2024 and grow at a CAGR of 9.31% to reach USD 4.82 billion by 2029. In the pharmaceutical sector, tracking and tracing systems can play an important role because they guarantee regulatory compliance, improve patient safety by avoiding the sale of fake drugs, and offer supply chain transparency. By promptly identifying impacted batches, providing insightful data for strategic decision-making, and encouraging stakeholder collaboration, these solutions enable effective recall management.
In this article, we will see the importance of tracking and tracing systems for the pharmaceutical industry. We will also see some additional details like benefits, and challenges, and in the end, we will end the discussion on topic with a brief conclusion.
Also Read: Top Benefits of Pharmaceutical Track and Trace System
What Is Track and Trace in the Pharmaceutical Industry?
Tracking and tracing are similar terms but there is a discrete difference between them as tracking refers to monitoring of a process whereas tracing refers to the recording of past and present process data.
Tracking and tracing in the pharmaceutical industry generally enables manufacturers to make sure that their products are safely monitored from the manufacturing facility, through distribution, and onto the pharmacy shelf by utilizing a mix of records, systems, and procedures. Overall, you can say that the safe and secure delivery of drugs is possible through the tracking and tracing technology in the pharma industry.
Tracking and tracing the drug supply chain from manufacturing to distribution using digital technologies makes it easier to spot problems like product recalls early. Additionally, it minimizes waste, lowers the chance of contamination, and aids in the detection of counterfeit goods.
Related Blog: Track and Trace Solutions for the Food Industry
Benefits of Track and Trace in the Pharmaceutical Industry
There are a lot of benefits of track and trace in the pharmaceutical industry as here are a few key benefits mentioned below.
Enhanced patient safety
There are a lot of patients worldwide who die every day due to bad-quality medicines. This is not a mistake of the pharma organization as the quality of drugs is affected during delivery. Not having proper tools or technology to track and collect data enables these frauds that directly affect the patient’s safety. With the implementation of tracking and tracing, it is possible to ensure that patients receive genuine drugs by guarding against fake pharmaceuticals.
Increase supply chain transparency
Supply chain management and inventory management are crucial while managing sensitive things like drugs as any mistakes cannot be avoided. However, it is not possible to keep visibility on every process of the supply chain without having tracking and tracing technology. Where these technologies enhance inventory control and efficiency by giving real-time supply chain visibility.
Efficiency recall management
In the pharma industry, there are a lot of drugs prepared on a daily basis. This is sure that there could be a few defective drugs among them all. This is important to remove those drugs for better safety of consumers.
However manual identifying and removing cannot help in a fully accurate manner. With the implementation of tracing and tracking, it is possible to reduce potential harm by facilitating the quick identification and removal of impacted products during recalls. 
Data-driven insights
Decision-making and having information about market trends like new formulations, drug types, consumers, etc are crucial in the pharma industry. Manual collecting of information and tracking of market trends take too much time which affects the decision making. Where track and trace systems can gather useful information about supply chain performance and market trends to help in decision-making.
Improve collaboration
This is also important to have better collaboration with the manufacturers, distributors, and retailers in the pharma industry. Proper tracking and having information about market trends, supply chain, etc helps to ensure better communication among the people. Tracking and tracing overall improves consumer satisfaction and service by improving communication between distributors, retailers, and manufacturers.
Also Read: Advantages of Track and Trace in the Logistics Industry
Challenges with Track and Trace in the Pharmaceutical Industry
We have seen a lot of benefits of tracking and tracing for the pharmaceutical industry but there could be some potential challenges too. Here are a few key challenges mentioned below.
-
- Implementation cost could be an issue as implementing and maintaining tracing and tracking systems could be unaffordable for many pharma industries.
-
- The complexity of the supply chain can be a challenge as the pharmaceutical supply chain is frequently complex and international, and it can be challenging to keep precise and consistent tracking across all parties involved.
-
- Existing system integration can be another challenge as new track and trace technologies may need the replacement or update of existing systems, which can be disruptive and time-consuming.
Also Read: Benefits of Track and Trace in the Consumer Goods Industry
How Aeologic helps Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Improve their Track and Trace Capabilities
Aeologic Technologies helps pharmaceutical manufacturers enhance their track and trace capabilities through cutting-edge RFID and IoT solutions. By integrating these technologies, Aeologic ensures real-time visibility, enabling precise monitoring of products across the supply chain. This reduces the risk of counterfeit drugs, ensures compliance with regulatory requirements, and improves overall efficiency. Their customized solutions offer seamless tracking from production to distribution, safeguarding product integrity and patient safety.
Aeologic’s assist manufacturers in making data-driven decisions, optimizing inventory management, and maintaining high standards of quality control in the pharmaceutical industry.
Final Words
For the pharmaceutical sector to improve efficiency, safety, and compliance, track and trace solutions are crucial. By avoiding fake drugs, guaranteeing compliance with regulations, and enhancing supply chain transparency, they play a vital part in protecting patients. There could be many challenges as we have mentioned in the previous paragraph but the benefits are too much that can easily outweigh the drawbacks.
Adopting these methods enhances the pharmaceutical supply chain and demonstrates a dedication to quality control and patient safety. Overall, as the pharma industry continues to evolve, these technologies can help to make the evolving process faster and more efficient.
