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Supply Chain Digital Twins: An Evolution, Not a Breakthrough
Digital twins help optimize drug production processes by modeling the thousands of interactions that cells, raw materials, and reagents undergo in culture. And new analysis suggests they could do the same thing for supply chains.
Researchers at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and EMD Millipore put forward the idea, arguing that twins could make drug distribution, which is also characterized by thousands of interactions, more resilient and efficient.
Lead author Perawit Charoenwut, a logistics researcher at NIST’s systems integration division, tells GEN, “A digital twin could be extremely helpful in all phases of the biopharmaceutical supply chain. Starting from demand planning triggered by global events such as pandemics, regional disease outbreaks, aging demographics, etc., through to being able to provide visibility on capacity requirements and limitations.”
In silico models could also provide solutions to disruption by identifying alternative supply options, such as distribution centers or regional inventories, in less time, Charoenwut says.
“Digital twins could also be helpful in evaluating different suppliers by running simulations on their potential performance, based on different demand scenarios versus their individual capacities and capabilities,” he continues.
Standards
In theory, digital twins are a good option for supply chain modeling and management. In practice, however, firms interested in the approach will need to overcome some technical challenges.
For example, one major hurdle is the lack of data standardization, according to study co-author Boonserm Kulvatunyou, PhD, a computer engineer at NIST. “Supply chain digital twins require data from across organizations and third-party sources,” he tells GEN. “The lack of industry standards creates challenges in obtaining all the necessary data.”
With this in mind, the NIST’s Industrial Ontology Foundry (IOF) is working with the National Innovation Institute for Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL) to develop open-source ontology and schema standards for connecting data.
Kulvatunyou says, “The aim is to provide a semantic foundation for connecting data and knowledge across the manufacturing and supply chain operations.
“Further work is being conducted to cover broader materials, processes, and quality data,” he says. “We would like to invite industry and academia to join this effort and benefit from these new standards.”
Industry interest
Biopharma firms interested in digital supply chains will also need to establish a solid data infrastructure, according to Charoenwut, who says companies should start small and pace themselves.
“We think that biopharma companies do believe that digital twins could make a significant difference in their supply chain efficiency and resiliency. Many of them are probably building prototypes and proofs-of-concept to demonstrate the value and potential benefits, but then soon realize the digital data foundation gaps that need to be addressed in parallel in order to fully adopt this technology.
“As digital twins can vary in detail and complexity, companies should strategize digital twin adoption by starting with lower-complexity cases based on available digital data and progressively moving up the scale to gain greater precision and new capabilities. In other words, the implementation of digital twins should be viewed as an evolution rather than a breakthrough,” he says.
The post Supply Chain Digital Twins: An Evolution, Not a Breakthrough appeared first on GEN – Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.
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STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about Pfizer’s emergency penicillin program, a Sanofi diabetes drug, and more
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was relaxing and invigorating because that oh-too-familiar routine of meetings, deadlines, and the like has returned with a vengeance. But what can you do? The world, such as it is, continues to spin. So time to give it a little nudge in a better direction by firing up our spiffy new kettle — the last one overheated — for a cup of stimulation. Given this is the start of the week, we are reaching for Jack Daniels. Yes, this is a real option for aspiring connoisseurs. Feel free to join us. Meanwhile, here are some tidbits to help you along. Best of luck accomplishing your goals today, and of course, do keep in touch. …
The Trump administration proposed to change a policy that is designed to prevent drugmakers from avoiding Medicare price negotiation by adding active ingredients to drugs, STAT tells us. The policy is part of an annual proposed rule that establishes the process that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services uses to choose the next 20 drugs and biologics for price negotiation. Those drugs will be announced by Feb. 1, 2027, and their negotiated prices will take effect in 2029. Iif a company adds a second drug to one that is eligible for negotiation, the FDA considers the resulting combination drug a new product, giving it additional time before price negotiation. Now, the administration is proposing to subject certain types of combination biologics to negotiation in some cases.
German Health Minister Nina Warken said that drugmakers will not be exempted from cost-cutting measures, after some companies warned they may be unable to launch innovative medicines in Europe unless governments agree to pay more than they historically have, Reuters writes. Proposed legislation in Germany will cap rapidly growing costs in the statutory health insurance system. Warken said she realizes many drug companies are under pressure, and the planned legislation is not going to bring them any extra revenue. But she maintained Germany remains an attractive location for the pharmaceutical industry thanks to reimbursement under the statutory health insurance scheme and opportunities for clinical trials. So exempting the industry from the proposed legislation is out of the question.
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was relaxing and invigorating because that oh-too-familiar routine of meetings, deadlines, and the like has returned with a vengeance. But what can you do? The world, such as it is, continues to spin. So time to give it a little nudge in a better direction by firing up our spiffy new kettle — the last one overheated — for a cup of stimulation. Given this is the start of the week, we are reaching for Jack Daniels. Yes, this is a real option for aspiring connoisseurs. Feel free to join us. Meanwhile, here are some tidbits to help you along. Best of luck accomplishing your goals today, and of course, do keep in touch. …
The Trump administration proposed to change a policy that is designed to prevent drugmakers from avoiding Medicare price negotiation by adding active ingredients to drugs, STAT tells us. The policy is part of an annual proposed rule that establishes the process that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services uses to choose the next 20 drugs and biologics for price negotiation. Those drugs will be announced by Feb. 1, 2027, and their negotiated prices will take effect in 2029. Iif a company adds a second drug to one that is eligible for negotiation, the FDA considers the resulting combination drug a new product, giving it additional time before price negotiation. Now, the administration is proposing to subject certain types of combination biologics to negotiation in some cases.
German Health Minister Nina Warken said that drugmakers will not be exempted from cost-cutting measures, after some companies warned they may be unable to launch innovative medicines in Europe unless governments agree to pay more than they historically have, Reuters writes. Proposed legislation in Germany will cap rapidly growing costs in the statutory health insurance system. Warken said she realizes many drug companies are under pressure, and the planned legislation is not going to bring them any extra revenue. But she maintained Germany remains an attractive location for the pharmaceutical industry thanks to reimbursement under the statutory health insurance scheme and opportunities for clinical trials. So exempting the industry from the proposed legislation is out of the question.
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STAT+: Where ‘democracy met science,’ 50 years ago
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Good morning. At a Cambridge bar on Saturday, I watched straight-seeming couples congregate by a television showing basketball, while a more queer-coded crowd lingered at another showing soccer. I don’t think that’s anything, really, but it was fun.
This ‘never event’ is happening more frequently
A child born with congenital syphilis could suffer dire consequences: bone deformities, brain damage, blindness, deafness, and more. But that should be a ‘never event’ as public health officials say: A pregnant person can receive an injectable form of penicillin to prevent the infection. Somehow, rates keep going up anyway. Between 2012 and 2024, the U.S. saw an 800% increase in babies born with the disease. And since last year, there’s been a shortage of the drug.
Get your daily dose of health and medicine every weekday with STAT’s free newsletter Morning Rounds. Sign up here.
Good morning. At a Cambridge bar on Saturday, I watched straight-seeming couples congregate by a television showing basketball, while a more queer-coded crowd lingered at another showing soccer. I don’t think that’s anything, really, but it was fun.
This ‘never event’ is happening more frequently
A child born with congenital syphilis could suffer dire consequences: bone deformities, brain damage, blindness, deafness, and more. But that should be a ‘never event’ as public health officials say: A pregnant person can receive an injectable form of penicillin to prevent the infection. Somehow, rates keep going up anyway. Between 2012 and 2024, the U.S. saw an 800% increase in babies born with the disease. And since last year, there’s been a shortage of the drug.
Sanofi makes no mention of the Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher. Tzield was awarded the ticket in October 2025, but Sanofi requested withdrawal from the program after former CDER head Tracy Beth Høeg reportedly expressed skepticism of the drug.
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STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about Pfizer’s emergency penicillin program, a Sanofi diabetes drug, and more
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