Shannon Flynn is a freelance blogger who covers education technologies, cybersecurity and IoT topics. You can follow Shannon on Muck Rack or Medium to read more of her articles. Artificial intelligence (AI) has had major impacts in the health care industry, affecting providers and patients alike. However, it also aids the pharmaceutical sector in finding and creating the drugs that support health care through the treatment and management of diseases. Here's a closer look at some positive changes AI could bring this year.

Despite being years away from exhibiting its full potential, artificial intelligence (AI) stands out as a multipurpose solution to address challenges faced by the entire pharmaceutical value chain. For example, in drug discovery and development, AI can reduce time to identify drug targets; in manufacturing, enable intelligent process automation and optimise predictive maintenance; in supply chain, enhance demand forecasting and inventory management; and in marketing and sales, facilitate targeted marketing campaigns. According to a GlobalData survey on'The State of the Biopharmaceutical Industry', conducted with pharmaceutical industry professionals from November 17, 2021, to December 17, 2021, 40% of 177 total respondents highlighted AI as the technology expected to have the greatest impact on the pharmaceutical industry in 2022 (Figure 1). The pharmaceutical industry is data-driven. With the ever-increasing volume and complexity of data being generated by the sector, the need to analyse information will continue to pose challenges that can be best addressed by AI.

Like every other industry, digital transformation is also revolutionizing the pharmaceutical industry. There has been a substantial increase in the digital health market since 2010, and according to a recent study, around 74% of respondents agreed that Covid-19 has significantly accelerated digital transformation in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry. In another study, 35% of respondents state that the pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation in the pharmaceutical sector by more than five years, as shown in Figure 1. Digital transformation in the pharmaceutical sector means implementing various digital technologies to improve the production and provision of healthcare products and services. As digital technologies take over the world, pharmaceutical companies must stay up to speed to survive.

McKinsey's Global AI survey has found that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in automating business processes has increased by 25% year on year, yet a number of sectors are struggling. In a global survey of 2,360 businesses, McKinsey found that 58% of organisations have embedded at least one AI capability into a process or product in at least one function or business unit. This is up from 47% in 2018, which means AI adoption is becoming more mainstream, it suggested. According to McKinsey, the top quarter of businesses – the 54 "AI high performers" that took part in the study, where AI is being used in five or more business activities – reported seeing an average revenue increase of at least 5% from AI adoption in the business units where AI is used. The study also found that these businesses saw an average cost decrease of 5% or more from AI adoption in the business units where AI is used.

Machine learning – the technology which allows machines to learn from data and self-improve – has significant potential for advancing a range of industries, as we've previously discussed in relation to manufacturing and the professions. On 8 September, the Royal Society held a workshop on the use of machine learning in the UK pharmaceutical sector. We explored what machine learning could do, and barriers to its use, with global pharmaceutical companies, sector associations, regulators, start-ups and SMEs. This blog post gives a few highlights from the discussion. Its ability to spot patterns in large volumes of data gives machine learning a range of applications in the pharmaceutical sector.