Professional services company Accenture has teamed up with the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) to speed up the production of medical treatments.
The aim of the partnership is to get life-saving medical treatments on the market faster. It is being funded by both Accenture and Enterprise Ireland. The project, dubbed the ‘Biotech Digital Twin’ project, will create a digital twin, or virtual representation, that will serve as a real-time digital counterpart of the biology of the manufacturing process.
The project team members will compare the results from the computer simulated experiments to those in the real world, at NIBRT’s labs. They will determine the accuracy of the biology of the digital twin and work to continuously improve the model.
Darrin Morrissey, CEO of NIBRT said that the “ground-breaking” project will bring together internationally recognised experts in cell biology, statistical modelling and digital simulation, stating, “the findings from this work have the potential to further streamline biopharmaceutical manufacturing, increase speed to market and ultimately deliver lifesaving medicines to patients more efficiently and cost effectively.”
According to Alastair Blair, country managing director, Accenture in Ireland, “the life sciences industry is rapidly transforming with scientific breakthroughs occurring at speed. Supporting research and development in this highly complex industry will enable us to create extraordinary changes in health outcomes that will positively affect our society.”
Earlier this year, Accenture announced it was creating 500 new jobs, most of which were to be based at its Munster life sciences hub. Two new life sciences jobs will be created from this project. Last month, NIBRT’s director of projects, Killian O’Driscoll, spoke about how the pandemic had impacted biopharma training and recruitment. It launched an online training academy in 2020 to deal with demand for biopharma professionals.
Accenture acquired Cork’s Enterprise Systems Partners (ESP) in 2019. ESP provided consulting and manufacturing services for the region’s life sciences industry. The multi-national has made several other acquisitions within the life sciences sector over the past few years, including the acquisition of LabAnswer in 2017.
Source: Teck Expert
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