06/05/2021 COPA-DATA UK Ltd Today, pharmaceutical companies are confronted with more frequent changes in production, but industry needs to ensure it is at the forefront of innovation in a time of a healthcare crisis. Here, Giuseppe Menin, Industry Manager at automation software supplier COPA-DATA, explains why modular production is crucial for enabling more flexible pharmaceutical production. Public awareness regarding the complexity of pharmaceutical production has never been so widespread, with the effort of life science companies working at breakneck speed to develop safe and effective treatments to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic being well-documented. Pharma facilities are being set up, or even converted, to produce the COVID-19 vaccine in several plants to help increase its availability — and the need for flexibility is clear. From producing new drugs in small batch sizes, to reconfiguring machines or equipment in already validated lines, pharma manufacturers require the ability to produce different drugs on the same production line — COVID-19 related or not.