Merck plans to use a cloud-based software platform to better predict and prevent drug shortages, according to The Wall Street Journal. The platform, developed by healthcare software company TraceLink, will analyze in real time data from pharmacies, hospitals and wholesale distributors. By using analytics and machine learning, the software can improve predictions and help drugmakers better match drug demand. The software could also save drugmakers hundreds of millions of dollars annually by reducing waste and avoiding costs like expedited shipments, because it can track a drug's status at every step in the supply chain. The platform currently holds data on more than 6 billion drugs.

To sharpen its predictions, the company's health-care division plans to start testing a cloud-based software platform later this year. The platform, made by North Reading, Mass.-based TraceLink Inc., can analyze in real time data points from various organizations within Merck's supply chain, including pharmacies, hospitals and wholesale distributors. TraceLink is now developing machine-learning algorithms that will be used in the pilot, which will begin with immuno-oncology drugs, designed to boost the body's immune system to fight cancer. "We want to start it in an area where the product is a lifesaving product," said Alessandro DeLuca, chief information officer for Merck's health-care division. "The value is going to be that every single patient will receive the drug that he or she needs at the right moment," Mr. DeLuca said, adding that the move could significantly cut drug shortages.