Pharma’s Blockchain Trials: Novartis, Merck Test The Tech Popularized By Bitcoin
Forbes February 2, 2021
The pharmaceutical industry has a paper problem. Every single box of medicine must include a paper insert with dosing instructions and technical information that can measure several feet long. Some patients read it over, some patients stash it in a drawer, while others just dump it in the trash. These pesky printouts can cause a massive headache for the entire drug supply chain if they are outdated or incorrect and result in a recall.
Novartis, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, thought it might have a solution: blockchain, the technology first popularized by bitcoin, which lets groups move value without the need for middlemen. Because blockchain requires networks moving value, the Basel, Switzerland-based company wasn’t prepared to go...