Pharma's industry 5.0 moment: Human + Machine, smarter together

In this interview, Braj Panda shares how Industry 5.0 is ushering in a future where technology doesn't just optimise—it collaborates, augments, and humanises how affordable medicines are produced.

- By Aanchal Ghatak

As the global healthcare industry sprints toward smarter, personalised innovation, new technologies are reshaping pharma at an unprecedented pace. The healthcare AI opportunity alone is projected to touch nearly USD 350-410 billion by 2025, with applications across drug discovery, clinical trials, precision medicine, and operations.

Meanwhile, the market for digital twins—virtual replicas of plants, patients, and processes—is accelerating rapidly, set to expand from USD 1.4 billion in 2025 to nearly USD 6.8 billion by 2032, at a CAGR of 25.7 percent.

Against this backdrop, Braj Panda, Head of Digital, Dr. Reddy's, discusses how generics pharma is evolving from Industry 4.0 efficiencies to an Industry 5.0 reality—where human-centred AI, digital twins, and smart automation converge to produce medicines that are faster, greener, and more affordable, with patients at the core.

How do you define Industry 5.0, and what makes it different from Industry 4.0?

Industry 4.0 was automation and digitisation— using sensors, IoT, robotics, and AI to streamline processes and reduce inefficiencies. In pharma, this meant automated quality inspections, predictive maintenance, and reduced paperwork.

Industry 5.0 is collaborative. Intelligent systems don’t replace humans but augment their decisionmaking. For generics pharma, this translates into:

AI-driven formulation design that lets scientists validate and adjust models instead of manually handling data.