Digitization in the healthcare system could make many hospital visits superfluous. Gerresheimer and Zollner now want to develop networked inhalers and medication pumps for this purpose.
(Photo: DigitalVision/Getty Images)
Dusseldorf So far, digitally controlled and networkable medical devices have mainly come from tech companies in Silicon Valley. Two German industrial groups are now venturing into a joint venture into digital medical technology: the packaging specialist Gerresheimer and the electronics manufacturer Zollner want to jointly develop networked inhalers for asthmatics and digitally controllable medication pumps.
Inhalers and drug pumps are tried and tested drug delivery devices, i.e. devices with which active pharmaceutical ingredients are transported into the body. However, the devices should be equipped with sensors and other microelectronics in order to also provide data on the application and effect on patients. Gerresheimer and Zollner are expecting billions in sales from the alliance – digital medical technology could revolutionize healthcare.
“We want to play a pioneering role in the development of networked drug delivery devices for administering medication and be one of the pioneers worldwide,” says Gerresheimer CEO Dietmar Siemssen.
The partners pool their expertise: in addition to its core business of traditional medicine packaging, Gerresheimer has developed into a specialist for inhalers and injection and infusion systems to be worn on the body. In 2021, the Plastics & Devices division accounted for more than half of the group’s total sales of 1.5 billion euros.
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Zollner, in turn, is to equip the medical devices with the necessary digital technology. The family company from Zandt near Regensburg is one of the world’s largest manufacturing service providers for electronic components. A good fifth of the turnover of around 1.9 billion euros was attributable to medical technology components.
Chronically ill people in particular should benefit from the digitization of the healthcare system: the devices could measure whether the patients are taking the medication correctly and whether the active ingredients are reaching the body in sufficient quantities. The medical devices could forward the data to the specialist doctor via a cloud, who would then be able to better monitor patient care.
Pharmaceutical companies outsource device development to suppliers
The technologies are also called “Internet of Medical Things” – based on the “Internet of Things” in which household appliances and cars are also networked. Experts see a lot of potential: According to a study by McKinsey, up to seven billion euros in treatment costs for chronically ill people could be saved each year. Online monitoring by the doctor and digital patient management could mean fewer doctor visits and hospital stays.
The prerequisite for this is that devices, cloud technology and data platforms are available and, in combination, bring the hoped-for benefit. Gerresheimer and Zollner initially focus on the development of inhalers for patients with chronic lung diseases, automatic injectors and systems in ophthalmology. It is unclear when the first products will be ready for the market.
Because both the actual drugs and the associated devices for administering them have to go through a lengthy approval process. In addition to medical issues in the course of digitization, the security of IT systems and data will also be discussed.
In the future, these processes should run in parallel so that pharmaceutical and medical technology companies can bring their products to market more quickly. To this end, companies are increasingly outsourcing the development and production of technical solutions to suppliers such as Gerresheimer. “In the automotive industry there has been a trend for years that large automotive groups have their suppliers develop and build entire systems. This can also be seen more and more in the pharmaceutical sector,” says Gerresheimer boss Siemssen.
Alliances for more high-tech competence in Germany
By working together, companies are responding to this trend. Thanks to the alliance, the Zollner family business can now appear as a team with Gerresheimer in the large medical technology groups. “As an electronics service provider, we were sometimes involved late in the development and now have direct contact with the end customer,” says Markus Aschenbrenner, CEO of Zollner.
Both companies see alliances as a good way to build up high-tech expertise in Germany. Increasing costs, more complex solutions and competitive pressure made it difficult for individual companies to obtain the required expertise everywhere. “That’s why it’s definitely better to team up with competent partners,” says Gerresheimer boss Siemssen.
More: New algorithms and better sensors bring high-tech medicine into the living room