For the very first time in its history, Yitch participated in Knowledge for Growth, Europe's leading networking and knowledge event for the global elite of the biotech, pharmaceutical and medtech industries as well as renowned universities. Despite this being our debut at Knowledge for Growth, our many previous successes in this industry, and the securing (and sharing!) of this gained knowledge, means that Yitch can by no means be considered a rookie.
Knowledge for Growth
Knowledge for Growth is Europe's main networking and knowledge event aimed at the cream of the biotech, pharmaceutical and medtech industries as well as academia. Given the circumstances, this 17th edition of the conference took place as a hybrid event, allowing attendees to choose attending live at ICC Ghent or virtually.
Yitch's presence at Knowledge for Growth was a first, although that doesn't mean that the optimization expert is new to the Life Sciences arena. Even more so, labeling Yitch as a rookie would be no less than an insult, given all the knowledge that has been amassed in the countless digitalization and automation projects in this industry carried out by Yitch.
Likewise, the importance of PILS should certainly not be underestimated in this regard.
PILS? Yes please!
PILS - Partners In Life Sciences - is a collective of companies that was launched a few years ago by Yitch and QbD (Quality by Design), among others. Within the group, experts frequently share knowledge about new technologies or experiences in the Life Sciences industry.
"All members of this solid brotherhood keep a strong focus on the life sciences industry," says Yitch co-CEO Werner Fransen. "Moreover, the partners - PILS now groups 13 companies - are complementary to one another as well: there is little or no overlap in the activities. And the integration within that network really works. Depending on the nature of the project, the exact composition of the participants will be determined. And although not every PILS member will be involved in every project, the different disciplines do ensure that better cooperation projects can be set up. The big winners? The life sciences companies themselves!"
Personalized medicine, a catalyst for digitalized and automated manufacturing
The life science industry in Belgium has a very strong presence. In fact, Belgium is no less than a world leader in this field. Numerous new products, medicines or therapies are created within our borders, by Belgian companies, universities or research centers. On top of this, the sector also has a huge number of start-ups located in Belgium. You can therefore safely say that this region is teeming with Life Sciences activity. Given the need for digitalization and automation within this sector, and its location, Yitch can act as the partner par excellence to optimise processes intelligently.
"The entire Life Sciences industry is evolving towards personalized medicine, and it is precisely this trend that is increasing the need for digitalization and automation."
"Whether the urge to digitalize plays strongly within this industry?" repeats Fransen. "Absolutely! The days when patients with a medical condition sometimes had to wait for weeks for lab results, only then to be able to start treatment, seem to be drawing to a close. The entire industry is evolving towards medication tailored to the patient (personalized medicine), and it is precisely this trend that is increasing the need for digitalization and automation."
"After all, one needs correct data about the specific diagnoses (via medical devices, but also e.g. via smart watches), but also an automated production apparatus that can produce targeted 'tailor-made medicines' as quickly as possible. Something that is simply impossible without digitalizing and automating the production facilities, the development of new production methods and the validation of new operating systems... In this way, correct diagnostics data, the appropriate cure and the enormous speed between the two can make the difference between life and death."
Smart process optimization
Yitch is very often called upon for the optimization of production technical issues, not only in existing large companies, but also in start-ups that need to scale up their production environment, without compromising the highest and homogeneous quality of the final product. Yitch assists in developing, engineering and integrating the production machines that will serve this purpose.