The "The Box" project organized a hackathon for the pharmaceutical sector at Zonamerica

To find solutions to the major logistical challenges facing the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries, several companies and institutions joined forces as part of the “The Box” project to organize the first Life Science Hackathon, where various stakeholders came together to work toward improving the sector’s competitiveness.

“The Box” is an initiative funded by the National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII) and IDB Lab, which aims to boost the development of the logistics sector through the implementation of technology at the local and global levels, promoting integration, research, and innovation.

The initiative, developed by Aero Cargas–DHL Global Forwarding, IBM, Quanam, the University of Montevideo, Newlab, and Zonamerica, includes a Technology 4.0 Demonstration Center focused on the logistics chain, with the aim of sharing international best practices and supporting companies that wish to evaluate, select, and implement these technologies and apply them to their operations.

Nine companies from the sector (va-Q-tec, Adium Pharma, Merck, Dasa Genómica, Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca, GSK, Bayer, and Megalabs), along with experts, students, representatives from the public sector, and organizations that support entrepreneurs, participated in the hackathon.

The event was supported by the Ministry of Public Health (MSP), the National Customs Directorate (DNA), ANII, IDB Lab, Uruguay XXI, and the Israeli Embassy in Uruguay.

“The pharmaceutical industry in Uruguay is growing, has a significant impact, and faces many logistical challenges. We worked to identify its three main challenges and invited companies and institutions to share their perspectives and propose solutions with complete openness, in an unprecedented and highly collaborative effort,” said Diego Wins, the event’s organizer.

Over the course of two days at The Box Auditorium in Zonamerica, participants worked collaboratively to develop innovative solutions to three specific industry challenges: ensuring proper conditions for domestic cargo, providing unified real-time customs information, and aligning the specific regulations of the Ministry of Public Health with those of the National Customs Directorate to achieve more streamlined and efficient processes.

The result was three proposals with varying scopes and feasibility in the short and medium term, which outlined possible solutions to overcome the barriers facing the sector.

Flavio Caiafa, president of ANII, highlighted the value of “bringing the industry together and getting the entire value chain to think about the future of logistics in Uruguay. It is essential to analyze the current state of affairs and consider what we want for the future. This is the first initiative undertaken by Uruguay’s logistics community to envision a better future, and it will serve as a springboard for further efforts to build a better future.”

Uruguay has established itself as a logistics hub for the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries due to several advantages the country offers, such as its time zone, cultural affinity and neutrality, and trade agreements, among other factors.

Exports of pharmaceutical products for human use exceed US$150 million, and more than half of them originate from free trade zones.