On the afternoon of April 25th, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out during the 20th collective study session of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee that it is necessary to promote the deep integration of artificial intelligence technology innovation and industrial innovation.

Breakthrough a batch of key technologies for digitalization in the pharmaceutical industry, establish over 100 digitalized pharmaceutical equipment factories, and cultivate over 30 excellent service providers for digitalization transformation in the pharmaceutical industry

Recently, seven departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Commerce, and the National Health Commission jointly issued the "Implementation Plan for the Digital Transformation of the Pharmaceutical Industry (2025-2030)", releasing a positive signal of "promoting the deep integration of new generation information technology and the pharmaceutical industry chain".

The high-quality development of the pharmaceutical industry is an important task in promoting new industrialization and building a manufacturing powerhouse, and an important support for implementing the Healthy China strategy. In the eyes of industry insiders, the implementation plan issued by the seven departments this time further consolidates the foundation and enhances the momentum for the high-quality development of China's pharmaceutical industry.

What changes will the pharmaceutical industry undergo with the support of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence?

In the field of research and development, traditional paradigms are being innovated through technologies such as artificial intelligence assisted target screening and compound synthesis pathway prediction. The fusion of gene sequencing and clinical data is driving precision drug development, and virtual experimental tools will significantly improve research and development efficiency;

Looking at the production process, with intelligent transformation as the core, relying on digital workshops to achieve real-time control of process parameters, will promote the construction of an intelligent quality traceability system covering the entire life cycle of drugs;

Looking at the circulation field, with the help of intelligent logistics and blockchain traceability systems to enhance supply chain resilience, digital marketing networks will effectively extend the reach of grassroots pharmaceutical services

The power of digital transformation is truly felt by pharmaceutical companies: Kailaiying Pharmaceutical Group deeply integrates digital technology with innovative drug research and development, and its continuous response technology shortens the traditional 21 day production cycle to 8 days; The enterprise level energy management platform developed by China Resources Sanjiu achieves an energy consumption prediction accuracy of 96% through a "dual-mode data analysis engine", saving over one million yuan in annual costs

With the joint promotion of relevant policy support and continuous innovation in the industry, China's pharmaceutical industry has taken solid steps towards automation, informatization, and digitalization development, "said the person in charge of the Consumer Goods Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

How to further promote the digital transformation of the pharmaceutical industry? The plan proposes a two-step development goal——

By 2027, significant progress will be made in the digitalization transformation of the pharmaceutical industry, including breakthroughs in a number of key technologies for digitalization in the pharmaceutical industry, the development and promotion of more than 100 high-performance products in the fields of intelligent pharmaceutical equipment, testing instruments, and pharmaceutical industry software, the establishment of more than 100 digitalized pharmaceutical equipment factories, the construction of more than 10 pharmaceutical large-scale model innovation platforms, digitalized technology application verification and pilot testing platforms, etc.

By 2030, large-scale pharmaceutical industry enterprises will basically achieve full coverage of digital transformation, further improve the data system of the entire pharmaceutical industry chain, and further enhance the digital transformation ecosystem of the pharmaceutical industry.

14 specific work tasks highlight the "construction drawings" for the digital transformation of the pharmaceutical industry——

Strengthen the research and application of intelligent products in the pharmaceutical industry; Encourage pharmaceutical companies, medical institutions, research institutes, and other organizations to collaborate in building a pharmaceutical industry big data platform, forming high-quality datasets in areas such as research and development, production, clinical practice, and big health; Encourage the construction of a batch of high-performance cloud computing platforms, blockchain, data centers, 5G industry virtual private networks, IoT and other information infrastructure

The plan covers sub fields such as chemical drugs, traditional Chinese medicine, biological products, and medical devices. It aims to improve efficiency through the use of artificial intelligence in new drug research and development, upgrade factory intelligence in production and manufacturing, and achieve full traceability of drugs and supply chain management in the circulation process. It has formed a systematic guidance framework for digital transformation, "said Yu Xiaohui, President of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

The relevant person in charge of the Consumer Goods Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology stated that they will closely cooperate with relevant departments to form a policy synergy, strengthen the effective connection of policies throughout the entire chain, encourage pharmaceutical industry enterprises and upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain to carry out cross regional cooperation, and promote the integration of domestic and foreign regulations, standard certification, and business and technical exchanges in the field of digitalization in the pharmaceutical industry.

The east wind has arrived, and China's pharmaceutical industry is taking advantage of the "numbers" and improving "intelligence" to increase efficiency.

Source: Xinhua Viewpoint