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Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a science and technology company, and Gerresheimer AG, Duesseldorf, Germany, a provider of healthcare solutions and drug delivery systems for pharma, biotech, and cosmetics, jointly developed a digital twin solution to further ensure traceability and trust in crucial steps along the pharmaceutical supply chain. The proof of concept aims to transform the pharma supply chain by creating digital twins for primary packaging. Through a single interconnected network, participants will benefit from full traceability and digital trust, resulting in cost savings, improved quality and even new business models, thanks to process automation.
“We are convinced that our primary packaging will become the key to enable supply networks across organizations and lead to faster process operations and data-informed decision making,” said Daniel Diezi, vice president, digitalization & new business models at Gerresheimer.
“At our company, we develop innovative digital solutions to help companies exploit the exciting advantages of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and create digital twins they can really trust. We are proud to be a digital sparring partner to help Gerresheimer realize this by putting our patented digital technologies at their service,” said Thomas Endress, executive director of EMD Digital at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.
With the jointly developed solution, Gerresheimer’s physical primary packaging is provided with a trusted “key”, enabling access to its digital twin. Primary packaging, such as syringes or vials, “travel” through the whole supply chain, from production to the point of care, connecting and collecting information that will be linked to their unique ID. They become the key to unlocking data coming from numerous digital ecosystems, enabling more efficient collaboration among various organizations in the supply network. The new solution implemented on Gerresheimer products uses blockchain-based platform and multi-patented authentication technologies developed by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, to anchor physical objects securely in the digital world. In combination with Industry 4.0 standards, this makes it highly trustworthy and reliable. As a science and technology company that operates across different business sectors, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, also develops forward-looking digital solutions for customers that can be applied in a wide variety of industries.
