Skip to content
‹ Back to IndustriesHealthcare

High Costs, Low Margins, and Regulatory Hurdles Hinder Pharma’s Adoption of Advanced Manufacturing Technologies

Pharmaceutical manufacturers face financial and regulatory barriers that outweigh the benefits of modernizing their production processes

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Healthcare teams put it to work with Executive Thought Leadership.

By Mike Tracy · · Advanced Manufacturing TechnologiesDrug ProductionDrug ShortageMike Tracy
Share

Key takeaways

01

Pharmaceutical manufacturers face financial and regulatory barriers that outweigh the benefits of modernizing their production processes

Free workspace

Turn your Healthcare expertise into content.

Record interviews, organize footage, and write with AI on a free trial of the MarketScale platform for qualifying companies. No demo required, no credit card.

Try it Free

The ongoing drug shortage crisis in the U.S. underscores a critical need for innovation in pharmaceutical manufacturing. As manufacturing issues, outdated technologies, and geopolitical risks contribute to shortages that impact patient care and elevate healthcare costs, the introduction of Advanced Manufacturing Technologies (AMTs) offers a beacon of hope. AMT technologies promise to enhance quality control and reduce production downtime, yet their adoption in generic drug production remains low despite obvious benefits.

Why is the pharmaceutical industry slow to adopt technologies that could revolutionize drug availability and cost?

Mike Tracy, a C-Level Healthcare Operations Strategist, dives into the complexities of integrating Advanced Manufacturing Technologies in drug production. Mike points out that while AMTs can drastically reduce bottlenecks in drug production, the significant initial investment and stringent regulatory landscape pose substantial hurdles.

“Every AMT has a high startup cost and generic drugs have very razor-thin margins to begin with. We’re not talking about a new drug that’s not already out in the market where you’re going to have a high margin and it makes sense to invest millions,” Tracy explains.

Every AMT has a high startup cost and generic drugs have very razor-thin margins to begin with.
— Mike Tracy, C-Level Healthcare Operations Strategist

Your experts belong here

Every story in MarketScale Healthcare starts with a company putting its clinicians, service-line leaders, and field engineers on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.

Service-line buyers vet vendors quietly, and your clinicians become the proof they find while doing it.

Book DemoSee how it works15 minutes, straight to a calendar.

About the author

Mike Tracy
Mike TracyChief Operating Officer at enGen

With a fulfilling history within the healthcare industry, Mike establish thoughtful, metric-based direction for new and improved initiatives, processes, and programs to refresh employee engagement, satisfy customers, and revamp operational efficiencies. By employing effective cost analysis, he identify avenues for appropriate cost reductions without jeopardizing staffing and operation needs. For example, Mike accomplished a 20% reduction in SG&A cost for technology by engineering a standard operating model, automation development, and revising processes in my current position. Alongside expert cost analysis, he ensure all implementations align with company goals and missions while assessing community needs.

B2B Weekly

The week in Healthcare, and sixteen other industries, every Monday.

Ten stories, one-line takes, five minutes. Free.

Healthcare: are you visible to AI?

Before they reach out, Healthcare buyers ask AI engines which vendors to trust. Explore how your experts, customers, and partners can become useful content for buyers and AI search.

Free Trial

You just read one Healthcare expert. Your company is full of them.

This article was produced through MarketScale. The same platform turns your clinicians, service-line leaders, and field engineers into the articles, video, and social content Healthcare buyers are searching for. Start a free trial and see it with your own people. For qualifying companies, no credit card, no demo required.

NPS +73 · 1,000+ creators · 38+ countries

What your free trial includes

Hands-on access to the MarketScale platform
Media requests to your crowd, remote recording, AI writing tools
No demo required. No credit card.
For qualifying companies. Company confirmation required.

More Healthcare Insights

Censis now reads da Vinci QR codes to count robotic arm uses

Censis now reads da Vinci QR codes to count robotic arm uses

Censis Technologies told CtUC 2026 attendees that CensiTrac has read the QR code on da Vinci arms since April, so robotic arms carry use counts without a second mark. The session built a business case for CensiTrac Advanced around marked assembly, clinic inventory ownership and par levels, with a 2021 BMJ Quality & Safety study putting missing instruments at 17.6% of assembly defects.

  • 01CensiTrac has counted da Vinci arm uses from the code that already comes on each arm since April, with no laser or etch added.
  • 02Hospitals told Censis they want clinic inventory tracking mainly to prove sterile processing did not lose the instruments.
  • 03Missing instruments were 17.6% of assembly tray defects at a 700-bed hospital in a 2021 BMJ Quality & Safety study, a problem the presenter tied to marked assembly.

Nov 5, 2026

AdvaMed approves voluntary data access best practices for medtech companies and health systems

AdvaMed approves voluntary data access best practices for medtech companies and health systems

AdvaMed's Digital Health Tech board approved voluntary Data Access Principles & Best Practices, announced October 28, setting four principles for how medtech companies and U.S. health systems share data.

  • 01The framework covers data vendors need to implement, monitor and improve technology, with expectations for transparency, stewardship and de-identification.
  • 02Watch for the first RFPs, security questionnaires or data use agreements that cite the principles by name; a voluntary document gains weight only when buyers adopt it.

Nov 5, 2026

Nearly 500 hospitals track shortage-affected segments via RFID

Nearly 500 hospitals track shortage-affected segments via RFID

According to Bluesight, nearly 500 hospitals track almost 4,000 shortage-affected medication segments in their RFID systems. Checks of dispensing cabinets have been missing that RFID-tracked supply. Gilman argues that bringing RFID data in next to cabinet data gives more complete usage rates and days-on-hand calculations, though the gain could depend on whether systems connect at the transaction level.

  • 01During a shortage, a count that stops at the dispensing cabinet can misstate both stock on hand and usage rate, creating a false sense of urgency and wasteful emergency purchases.
  • 02RFID is no longer limited to kit and tray management: nearly 500 hospitals already track almost 4,000 shortage-affected medication segments in their RFID systems.
  • 03For operators weighing a merged feed, the key question could be whether RFID usage flows into the days-on-hand calculation at the transaction level or sits beside cabinet data as a static count.

Nov 4, 2026

Explore More Healthcare Insights

Read more expert perspectives from across Healthcare.

Browse Healthcare Hub

About the Expert

Mike Tracy
Mike Tracy

Chief Operating Officer at enGen

With a fulfilling history within the healthcare industry, Mike establish thoughtful, metric-based direction for new and improved initiatives, processes, and programs to refresh employee engagement, satisfy customers, and revamp operational efficiencies. By employing effective cost analysis, he identify avenues for appropriate cost reductions without jeopardizing staffing and operation needs. For example, Mike accomplished a 20% reduction in SG&A cost for technology by engineering a standard operating model, automation development, and revising processes in my current position. Alongside expert cost analysis, he ensure all implementations align with company goals and missions while assessing community needs.

For B2B teams

Your experts could be publishing here

Stories like this one run on content MarketScale captures from real practitioners. See how your team's expertise becomes coverage in Healthcare and beyond.

Book a Demo

Or call us. No forms required. We pick up. 214-945-2512