What a difference a year makes. While concepts of robots and automation might have been considered nice to have when we talked about them at the PDA EU Annual Meeting in Amsterdam in 2019, the global pandemic has accelerated the importance of speed while maintaining our standards of safety. We will cover a wide range of topics ranging from artificial intelligence and machine learning, big data, data analytics, cloud solutions, and blockchain technology to automated solutions in pharma testing and manufacturing. 

We all know the stats. Robots and automation are expected to be faster and to reduce human errors by incredible factors. These technologies cover for worker shortages that some areas experience and they can do tasks in dangerous settings. The question we usually get, though, is whether these technologies are truly safe, robust, and beneficial for the patients. It’s necessary to understand that the heart and soul of automation and robot orchestration lies in multiple elements like artificial intelligence built out from human feedback and a careful initial set up, connectivity, cloud, and sensorics. These technologies are not set up in a vacuum and they continue to get reviewed and refined by humans. We are not replacing human knowledge but rather augmenting our capacity to create and innovate to bring our ideas to reality in a way that is safer and faster than ever before.

Regulatory bodies are ready for these technologies, too. What that means for us is that we must measure, record, trace, and analyze everything so that we are continuously improving the quality, efficiency, and safety of our drugs. Here again, smart systems can help us manage the variability and complexity of this new reality. 

We are very much looking forward to hearing from each of you about the ideas you have for the opportunities in this space, the technical solutions you have discovered, and the challenges you would like to overcome. There can no longer be doubt that digitization and automation and the discussions we have here will help catapult our Life Science organizations into this brave new world.