Identifying the effects of Industry 4.0 in the pharmaceutical sector: achieving the sustainable development goals

Abstract

As the pharmaceutical industry continues to evolve, the integration of Industry 4.0 technologies has emerged as a pivotal force in reshaping conventional practices, and as such it has a transformative impact on sustainable development in the pharmaceutical sector. This interdisciplinary literature review addresses the effects of Industry 4.0 on pharmaceutical industry’s workforce, safety concerns, and sustainable development efforts, together with challenges and benefits associated with the integration of advanced technologies in different countries. The employed research methodologies are qualitative, which incorporate PRISMA or Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. This explanatory research consists of published data (articles, conference papers, books) explaining the adoption of the 4th Industry revolution by the pharmaceutical sector employing a qualitative methodology which incorporates PRISMA or Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. By filtering out the published activity, an inflection point in the development of Industry 4.0 has been determined: the COVID-19 outbreak and the disruptions it brought to the supply chain of the pharmaceutical industry. A univariate bibliographic analysis focused in the meta-COVID-19 era, were the initial effects of Industry 5.0. Are taken into consideration, has been performed, revealing the relationship between the global health crisis and published activity by country. One of the most important outcomes is that local Governments’ policies and initiatives aiming to promote improved productivity, efficiency, and innovation are associated with published activity in the field.