GlaxoSmithKline Opens Up ‘Smart Space’ to Test New Technology

Two Private Investigators Accuse GlaxoSmithKline of Hiring Them Under False Pretenses

September 2, 2016
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff

LONDON --As big data and tech become even more entwined with drug development, GlaxoSmithKline is taking a big step forward with the opening of its first research and development facility designed to test new technology.

Dubbed the Immersive Immersive Intelligent Manufacturing, the 7,500 square foot “smart space” facility was developed to demonstrate how technology can be combined in a manufacturing line and environment, the Drum reported this morning. The new IIM facility includes internal and external spaces that are interconnected. The facility includes workshops, manufacturing and a collaboration area. Each area is designated by a color scheme to help with identification for employees, The U.K.’s Design Week said. The spaces include advanced technology tools to improve research as well as business development.

Patrick Hyett, head of GSK’s new IIM site, told Design Week the facility was built to “show the art of the possible.”

The site was designed by Pope Wainwright Wykes. In a statement on its website, PWW said GSK’s IIM will be used to focus on the development of “real time electronic data visualization for senior stakeholders, engineers and technicians, streamlining their situational awareness and exposure during the manufacturing process.”

The site is being used to “accelerate technology adoption within GSK,” The Drum reported. One feature of the new facility is a technologically advanced changing room that features “augmented reality attire” that will notify the wearer if the protective clothing has been put on correctly.

Wearable technology that collects health and fitness data is an important tool drug companies can tap into as eye treatments for various diseases. A massive amount of patient data would allow the companies to develop therapies and drugs that target disease at its source, which is part of the push toward precision medicine. The raw data will allow research scientists to study their genetics, environmental information and microbial information to learn how to individualize medical care.

The incorporation of technology into drug development and delivery is an exciting new area with many moon shot products in development. Google ’s life sciences division, Verily, is developing a number of such products, including contact lenses designed to monitor glucose levels in diabetes patients. Earlier this year, Amgen struck a deal with Unilife to develop wearable injector devices for the delivery of its large and small volume products.

Last summer fashion designer Ralph Lauren launched a new shirt that combines fashion and technology that will allow wearers to measure their heart rates and calories burned while wearing it. The new PoloTech Smartshirt features sensory receivers woven into the fabric that provides real time data, such as heart rate, stress levels, breathing levels, energy output and more, to allow wearers to maximize their workouts.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC