Artificial intelligence: a challenge for pharmaceutical companies

Idiap, the Valais-based research institute, and the Swiss Distance University, in collaboration with the canton of Valais, are offering an integrated approach. Through a unique program combining academic distance learning and on-the-job training, pharmaceutical companies, start-ups and multinationals are supported in the development of their artificial intelligence projects.

Inspired by the Swiss dual-track training system (apprenticeship), Idiap has set up an 18-month, 90 ETCS-credit dual master's degree. It combines theoretical courses with practical, on-the-job training. The projects, determined in conjunction with the host company, are supervised by artificial intelligence researchers and specialists from the research institute. As a national center of competence in artificial intelligence and an expert in technology transfer, Idiap offers its partner-companies scientific expertise.

A win-win partnership

In 2020, Merck Serono Aubonne, in collaboration with the Valais research institute, developed an artificial intelligence solution capable of judging the criticality of "deviations", minor or major incidents, that can occur during drug production. As head of the quality unit at Merck Serono Laboratories, Christophe Martin will be hiring an apprentice from Idiap's AI Master's program in February 2020. The aim: to develop an artificial intelligence solution to qualify incidents, from raw material entry to finished product storage, according to their type (major or minor).

The project took 18 months to complete, 18 months of data cleansing, labeling and coding. " We are now putting our resources in the right place when it comes to implementing corrective measures, and are much more relevant in our preventive actions," explains Christophe Martin. The next project already in the pipeline is to secure a supply chain affected by the covid crisis with a similar system.

Substantial savings and innovation potential to be explored, thanks to AI

With some CHF 80,000 invested in this first project, Merck Serono is already seeing significant financial benefits: some CHF 15,000 hours per year are saved by the quality unit thanks to this solution. "Today, the pharmaceutical industry is struggling to meet hospital demand. Making our drug supply more reliable thanks to AI not only increases our competitiveness, it also solves a public health problem", says Christophe Martin, Quality Director at Laboratoires Merck Serono.

The program's approach is not only to offer privileged access to highly qualified people, but also to open up a field of possibilities for partner companies to explore in innovation, thanks to data and artificial intelligence.

Further information: Master Dual in Artificial Intelligence at Idiap

Source: The Ark, an article based on Alp ICT's portrait of the Merck project