Experts discuss innovations in life sciences at virtual conference by Dassault Systèmes

Bengaluru: Dassault Systèmes recently hosted “The World After: From Things to Life 2020,” a one-of-a-kind virtual conference that provided in-depth insights into the vast potential of the life sciences industry in India. The virtual event was attended by life sciences industry professionals aimed at transforming and digitalizing the life sciences industry in India. The innovation-driven event focused on addressing challenges in pharma, biopharma, medical devices, and patient care segments Speakers from Biocon, IPCA, Skanray, Sahajanand Medical Technologies, Lupin, Agappe Diagnostics, Stryker, Brainsight, COMOFI Medtech, HCL Technologies and Jamia Milia Islamia University shared their knowledge and know-how.

“The World After – From Things to Life” focused on transforming and digitalizing the life sciences industry in India, which is undergoing core shifts in business processes and manufacturing operations to make it more agile and adaptable, reinventing the value chain, capitalizing knowledge and strategic planning, adhering to regulatory frameworks, and introducing futuristic and advanced technological solutions.

The pharma segment of the event covered topics like digital continuity in the pharmaceutical industry, revolutionizing the drug development process with artificial intelligence, design and development of SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors, optimizing laboratories and leveraging knowledge to improve time to market. Pharma and biopharma companies are moving towards unified platforms that help in drug research and discovery enhancing the ecosystem- research, development, manufacturing and quality and compliance. “Dassault Systèmes’ solution for quality control labs greatly reduced data input, transcription, and integrity validation efforts increased the overall productivity of the lab,” said Ashok Nayak, CIO, IPCA Laboratories.

The patient care segment in the event discussed “In-Silico in healthcare,” optimizing efficacy and safety for medical devices, simulation-driven new product development (NPD), simulation for understanding the functional dynamics of the brain and therapeutic stimulations using AI.  The patient care sector is changing rapidly with a focus on improving patient outcomes and a shift from intermittent treatments to a continuous engagement driven by simulation technologies. “Multiphysics simulation capabilities have helped in the indigenous research and development of minimally invasive coronary stent systems as well as in maximizing their life and performance,” said Dr. Ramanan Lakshminarayanan, Chief Technology Officer, Sahajanand Medical Technologies.

The medical devices segment in the event highlighted faster time to market of innovative medical devices, and key technology solutions adopted in the diagnostics segment.  Medical device manufacturers are moving away from point solutions for mechanical and electrical design, simulation, product data management (PDM) and technical communication, and toward integrated product development platforms to introduce product faster into the market and improve the overall performance and reliability, which is always the big challenge for them. “Medical Device manufacturers have to embrace digital technology to overcome the challenges in the manufacturing, product delivery, supply chain etc., which used to be an option in the past; now it is a must to sustain in the market and be innovative,” said Vishwaprasad Alva, Managing Director, Skanray.

“We intend to be a catalyst and technology enabler behind all the new opportunities evolving in the life sciences industry in India,” said Deepak NG, Managing Director, India, Dassault Systemes. “We are born out of science and expertise in engineering. We want to bridge medical science and engineering into the domains of manufacturing of medical devices, to offering scientific applications on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform for drug research, discovery and manufacturing, to simulating treatments. Earlier this year, Dassault Systèmes announced its strategic direction for the coming years, extending its focus from things to life.  We want to transform how people are cured and help them live a better life.”