AstraZeneca Plc - Enterprise Tech Ecosystem Series

AstraZeneca Plc - Enterprise Tech Ecosystem Series

Summary

AstraZeneca Plc (AstraZeneca) is a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of prescription pharmaceuticals. The company provides drugs for various therapeutic areas, including oncology, cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic disease (CVRM), respiratory, and others. AstraZeneca markets its products under various brand names including Byetta, Casodex, Faslodex, Zoladex, Tagrisso, Iressa, Symbicort, Pulmicort, Lynparza, Nexium, Onglyza, etc. The company sells its products to specialty care and primary care physicians through wholly-owned local marketing companies, local representative offices and distributors. It has business presence across the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia.

AstraZeneca operates R&D and innovation centers, in-house labs, and healthcare ecosystems in China.

In-house Labs and Innovation Center: AstraZeneca is focusing on building a digital factory of the future by testing and creating integrated solutions in its in-house labs. The technology focus of its in-house labs includes image recognition, AI, electronic records, digital twins, robotics, and automation. AstraZeneca operates Healthcare IoT Innovation Center in China responsible for developing development of smart healthcare solutions to improve patient experience. It also operates an in-house incubation lab for developing integrated augmented reality (AR), AI, and predictive maintenance solutions for internal operations optimization.

In November 2019, AstraZeneca announced creation of a Global R&D Center, an AI Innovation Center, and a Healthcare Industrial Fund to accelerate healthcare transformation in China. The Global R&D Center is responsible for carrying out initiatives for discovery and development of potential new innovative medicines. AI Innovation Center aims to build collaboration with digital startups and technology companies to collaboratively develop AI-based solutions in the areas of operations, R&D, manufacturing, and commercialization.

AstraZeneca operates automation labs, lead discovery center, and accelerator programs in Cambridge.

Automation Labs and Lead Discovery Center: AstraZeneca operates Center for Lead Discovery in Cambridge that focuses on discovering small molecules to develop novel medicines. The center also incorporates advanced screening and compound management facilities. AstraZeneca Center for Lead Discovery collaborated with HighRes Biosolutions, Labcyte, Brooks Automation, and Genedata to leverage automation capabilities in the areas of intelligent robotic screening, liquid compounds handling, liquid compounds storage, and advanced software solutions for drug discovery and data sharing with partners respectively.

AstraZeneca Exchange Accelerator: Launched in 2015, AstraZeneca Exchange event aimed to provide collaboration opportunities to academic institutions and biotech companies operating in the life sciences sector. The platform allows participants to engage in discussions, knowledge-sharing sessions, and form meaningful collaborations to explore solutions addressing key issues faced by the sector.

AstraZeneca’s Boston Bio Hub incubator focuses on supporting emerging startups to advance their biomedical research and develop innovative healthcare solutions. It provides shortlisted companies access to its laboratory facilities and equipment, and mentoring support on legal and business development aspects by experts. The companies shortlisted into AstraZeneca’s Boston Bio Hub incubator include Naveris, Gatehouse Bio, Olaris, and Blue Oak Pharmaceuticals.

This report provides insight into AstraZeneca's digital activities, including its digital transformation strategies, its innovation programs, its technology initiatives, its estimated ICT budget, and its major ICT contracts.

Scope

• In June 2019, AstraZeneca, along with 16 other partners launched Machine Learning Ledger Orchestration for Drug Discovery (MELLODDY), a research consortium to leverage machine learning (ML) and accelerate drug discovery through a three-year project. MELLODDY uses Owkin’s blockchain architecture in order to have a secure decentralized network of proprietary database that allows partners to extract insights.
• AstraZeneca collaborated with Talkwalker to analyze its global perception through social media channels using various KPIs such as number of mentions by users, engagement, and interest by media types, countries, and language. AstraZeneca also collaborated with Accenture for different projects including development of a digital content management tool, development of a comprehensive and interactive mobile application for its sales teams, and a CRM solution for employees.
• AstraZeneca is building internal IT infrastructure and data analytics capabilities in order to experiment with both structured and unstructured big data to improve data governance and achieve operational excellence.
• In 2016, AstraZeneca setup an in-house IT division in Chennai, India as part of its strategy to transform and streamline its IT operations. The IT centers established by the company focus on application of business intelligence and analytics, application development and testing, and mobility and support of its digital health initiatives.
• In January 2020, AstraZeneca announced its five-year plan to invest $520 million to create a new European Innovation Hub in Paris focused on supporting its manufacturing operations, providing a platform for strategic collaborations, and accelerate development of new technologies through research and development initiatives. Through the investment, AstraZeneca aims to modernize its IT infrastructure, create a new automated assembly line, and two integrated assembly and packaging lines.
• In November 2019, AstraZeneca partnered with Jerusalem Venture Partners to collaboratively operate PlayBeyondBio project aimed at identifying potential startups in Israel and help them in developing innovative digital health solutions through funding and tailored mentorship support. Other partners in this initiative include Israel National Initiative Association, the Sagol Fund, Morris Kahn, Maccabitech Healthcare Research and Innovation Institute, Microsoft, and ARC Innovation Center.

• Gain insights into AstraZeneca's tech operations.
• Gain insights into its digital strategies and innovation initiatives.
• Gain insights into its technology themes under focus.
• Gain insights into various product launches, partnerships, and acquisition strategies.