Connecting Life Sciences Manufacturing Using Industrial IoT

This viewpoint examines the digitization of the life sciences manufacturing value chain through the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). The life sciences industry is leveraging IIoT to deliver an interconnected asset ecosystem. IIoT platform vendors or service providers are making investments in enabling technologies such as RPA, analytics platforms, and cloud computing, most of which are already mature in other industries. Predictive maintenance has proved to be a leading IIoT use case in the life sciences industry. With the launch of COVID-19 vaccines, real-time tracking and tracing of vaccines using IIoT has emerged as another leading use case.
In this research, we also look at IIOT implementation-related challenges due to stringent regulatory and data integrity standards in the life sciences industry. Additionally, the complex nature of the interconnected manufacturing set-up requires skilled labor and a developed infrastructure to bring about rapid changes in the industry. Only those service providers that can quickly identify and leverage IIoT initiatives will be able to reap substantial benefits.