Ever since blockchain burst onto the scene a decade ago as a technology primarily designed for use in the financial services industry, people have continually found new—and sometimes odd—applications for the technology. Blockchain has been applied to everything from “buying” time (sic!) to renting a supercomputer, yet when it comes to the life sciences, a lack of practical applications has resulted in blockchain being considered a “hammer in search of a nail.” Over that same time, life science organizations have been attempting to cope with an ever-increasing flood of information, arriving from many hundreds of sources in varied formats, with stringent governance and compliance requirements for how data is used.
For several years, The Pistoia Alliance has been working with members as part of our Blockchain Project to investigate the link between these two issues and look at how blockchain might be applied to solve a number of problems for pharmaceutical researchers. This has included exploring the various potential uses of blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) in life sciences through hackathons, boot camps, and webinars hosted across the globe. Most recently, the Alliance hosted a blockchain Use Case Analysis Workshop in London, and participated in a panel discussion during the Blockchain Track at Bio-IT World Conference & Expo 2019 in Boston. At both events, there was great discussion among attendees around some of the use cases that life science organizations should be looking at, as well as some of the barriers to blockchain adoption, and what can be done to address these issues.
For a discussion on possible life sciences use cases ranging from patient consent management to the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) manufacturing supply chain, and from secured data sharing to regulatory package submission read my commentary in Bio-IT World here: http://www.bio-itworld.com/2019/06/05/the-future-of-blockchain-the-use-cases-set-to-reshape-life-sciences.aspx