The pharmaceutical industry has a history of embracing technological advancements. Therefore, integrating advanced digital twin software has become essential to accelerate product development and meet new regulatory challenges.

Pharmaceutical companies often turn to Ansys to improve efficiency, as it excels in streamlining drug development, analyzing drug interactions, and designing efficient delivery systems.

Despite Ansys’ popularity in other industrial environments, it may not always be the optimal choice to meet the needs of the pharmaceutical industry. It's a versatile simulation tool for discrete manufacturing environments but offers limited pre-built models for the pharmaceutical sector and, thus, may require significant upfront customization work.

In addition, Ansys’ limited integration capabilities with existing pharmaceutical workflows and applications can present challenges for seamless collaboration.

In this article, we will explore the top six Ansys competitors, identifying the pharmaceutical sector's best options for digital twin technology, catering to the particular needs of this industry, and enabling businesses to streamline operations.

Comparison criteria

When assessing the best digital twin technology software for the pharmaceutical industry, the following aspects should be considered:

1. Simulation capabilities – Assess the software's ability to accurately model complex pharmaceutical processes and systems, giving predictable results for prototyping and upscaling.
2. Multi-physics support – Ensuring the software can handle multi-physics simulations to capture diverse drug interactions and phenomena, enabling the development of more effective drugs.
3. Data analytics and visualization – Prioritizing vendors that offer robust data analytics and visualization capabilities for extracting meaningful insights to make data-driven decisions.
4. Industry experience – Prioritizing vendors with a proven track record in serving the pharmaceutical sector as they know industry-specific problems and can offer better solutions leveraging their expertise.
5. Integration and compatibility – Checking if the software can integrate with existing tools and supports standard file formats, ensuring a smooth and optimized workflow.
6. Regulatory compliance – Verifying the software complies with industry regulations such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) to ensure it offers high data security.

Top 8 Ansys competitors for Pharma

1. Basetwo

Basetwo is powerful digital twin software designed for process engineers in the pharmaceutical industry. It has robust simulation capabilities that allow accurate modeling of complex pharmaceutical processes and systems through hybrid modeling technology.

The physics-informed machine learning approach enables capturing diverse interactions effectively. Basetwo empowers teams to independently handle models throughout their life cycle, eliminating the need for original equipment manufacturer (OEM) purchases or external consultants.

Features

• Hybrid modeling technology
• Physics-informed machine learning
• Accurate model predictions
• Uni and multivariate data analytics
• A high degree of data validity and visualization
• OEM independence
• User-friendly drag-and-drop interfaces

Solutions

• By harnessing built-in optimization and robust process control features , customers can achieve substantial cost savings of up to 40% in pharmaceutical applications
• Basetwo streamlines operations, offering valuable insights that can lead to reductions of up to 40% in cycle time and material usage
• Through its low-code interface, Basetwo empowers teams to find optimal control points and conduct in silico experiments, reducing energy consumption by 20% in some pharmaceutical use cases

Pros

• Ready-to-use bioreactor, chromatography, and other model templates
• Advanced integrations with various industrial or lab-based data sources
• Hybrid modeling capabilities combine multiple technologies, such as traditional machine learning and artificial intelligence, and mechanistic models
• Can be deployed in an online environment for real-time optimization

Cons

• Lack of features tailored for capacity modeling use cases

Pricing

Basetwo offers subscription-based plans, enterprise licensing, and customized pricing for large enterprises.

2. Siemens

Siemens offers a limited suite of digital twin solutions for the pharmaceutical industry, featuring standard simulation capabilities and multi-physics support.

However, it is a general-purpose platform mainly targeting manufacturing, energy, and transportation industries. It also lacks pre-built models that can cater to the specific needs of the pharma industry, offering limited small molecule, biological, or cell and gene therapy modeling ability.

Features

• Accurate modeling
• Standard multi-physics support
• Real-time process monitoring and control

Solutions

• Siemens' digital twin solutions optimize processes, enhance productivity, and enable real-time process monitoring and control for pharmaceutical companies
• The software provides valuable insights into pharmaceutical processes through data analytics and simulations

Pros

• It offers high-accuracy simulation capabilities and strong multi-physics support for the pharmaceutical sector
• Siemens is a trusted and well-established player in the digital twin market

Cons

• The learning curve may be steeper than some alternatives, requiring more extensive employee training programs
• Universal solution, not tailored specifically for the pharma industry
• A limited number of prebuilt models for biological modeling
• High OEM dependence is required for building custom models
• Limited data visualization capabilities

Pricing

Siemens offers tiered pricing for software modules and services based on user requirements.

3. gPROMS

gPROMS specializes in advanced modeling capabilities for accurately simulating complex processes and systems in the pharmaceutical sector.

However, gPROMS has limited data integration features, high OEM dependence, and requires specialized expertise and personal training. The higher overall cost of ownership makes it an infeasible option for small-scale pharmaceutical organizations.

Features

• Advanced modeling capabilities for precise simulations
• Standard multi-physics support
• Dynamic simulation capabilities
• User-friendly interface
• Realtime monitoring and predictive analysis

Solutions

• gPROMS empowers pharmaceutical companies to optimize operations, make informed decisions, and gain in-depth process understanding.
• The software offers valuable insights through data analytics and simulations.

Pros

• gPROMS is a reliable digital twin solution provider with substantial industrial experience
• The software allows seamless optimization of the pharmaceutical process
• The software offers good customer support
• gProms has one of the most intuitive interfaces available in the market

Cons

• The steep learning curve may lead to higher training costs
• High cost of ownership
• Limited data integration capability

Pricing

gPROMS offers flexible pricing options based on organizational requirements and scale.

4. Sartorius (SIMCA/SIMCA Online)

Sartorius offers users several digital twin solutions focusing on data analytics and visualization for valuable insights into pharmaceutical processes. They have an SIS Platform for data integration, BioPAT VIA for process analytics, BioPAT MFCS for bioprocess data management, and SIMCA for multivariate data analysis.

However, Sartorius tools are intended for lab-scale applications. Simca offers limited compatibility with large-scale pharmaceutical enterprises with established setups, particular software requirements, or legacy systems. Leveraging the platform's full capabilities may require extensive resources.

Features

• Uni and multivariate data analytics and visualization
• Real-time process monitoring and control
• Bioprocess data management

Solutions

• Sartorius facilitates data-driven decision-making, process optimization, and real-time monitoring for pharmaceutical companies.
• The software provides valuable insights through data analytics and real-time monitoring.

Pros

• SIMCA allows robust data analytics and real-time monitoring features to empower informed decision-making.
• It is a trusted solution provider with a focus on data-driven decision-making.

Cons

• Limited simulation capabilities may require integration with other tools for multi-physics support
• Considerably inclined toward research sector and lab scale techniques
• Limited scalability

Pricing

Sartorius provides customized pricing based on modules and features for organizations.

5. Quartic AI

Quartic AI offers robust data analytics capabilities for modeling pharmaceutical processes and systems. The platform provides advanced data analytics, predictive modeling, and process optimization.

However, it is essential to consider Quartic's compatibility with existing systems and the need for specialized expertise to leverage its capabilities.

Features

• Predictive analysis
• Real-time batch monitoring
• Quality control and deviation management

Solutions

• Quartic AI empowers pharmaceutical companies with comprehensive simulations for process optimization.
• The software enables data-driven decision-making and valuable insights into pharmaceutical processes.

Pros

• Quartics AI offers fast and accurate data analytics and AI models to analyze pharmaceutical processes.
• The software allows for data-driven decision-making by analyzing historical data and comparing current and ideal operational and deviation monitoring.

Cons

• Limited industry experience compared to established competitors
• Expertise is required for leveraging platform capabilities
• Limited prediction accuracy due to non-integration of mechanistic modeling

Pricing

Quartic offers competitive pricing and subscription tiers for different business sizes.

6. Aizon

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Aizon offers data-driven insights and process optimization in the pharmaceutical sector, focusing on data analytics, machine learning, and visualization technologies.

However, it is a general AI platform catering to several industries. It does not offer specific physics-informed models that cater to the complex modeling requirements of drug development, limiting its usage and accuracy.

Features

• Data analytics and visualization for process optimization
• Real-time process monitoring and comparison
• Quality control and defect analysis

Solutions

• Aizon empowers informed decision-making and process optimization for pharmaceutical companies.
• The software provides valuable insights through data analytics and visualization.

Pros

• Robust data analytics and visualization capabilities for data-driven decision-making.
• Flexible pricing plans are tailored to meet the specific needs of each organization.

Cons

• The platform offers limited multi-physics support compared to similar companies.
• Aizon is a general-purpose AI platform that offers no live simulation or optimization opportunities.
• Significant training and infrastructure costs are required to harness the platform's full potential.

Pricing

Aizon offers flexible pricing plans tailored to each organization’s specific needs.

7. Aspentech

Aspentech specializes in process modeling and simulation for the oil and gas sector. They are now expanding into pharmaceuticals, offering tools for general process optimization that are difficult to deploy in a pharmaceutical environment.

While Aspentech offers competitive pricing and fresh perspectives, its software's inherent complexity and limited experience in the pharmaceutical sector may result in gaps in understanding specific processes, company-specific features, and functionalities.

8. Seeq

Seeq is a data analytics and visualization platform for pharmaceutical companies to optimize processes and gain valuable insights. Its strengths lie in advanced data analytics and visualization, enabling data-driven decision-making and process optimization.

However, Seeq complements other digital twin tools by extracting valuable information from data. It doesn’t directly cover the digital twin concept and has limited multi-physics support due to its focus on data analysis rather than physics-informed machine learning.

Seeq may integrate with simulation and optimization platforms like Basetwo to enhance its capabilities and empower its customers with comprehensive data-driven solutions.

Comparison Table

Conclusion

Ansys is the top-of-the-line digital twin solution for the pharmaceutical industry. However, its limited integration, sophisticated technology and training requirements, high pricing, and overall cost of ownership prevent medium to small-scale organizations from leveraging its full capabilities.

Thus creating a need for alternatives.

Basetwo has emerged as the top choice for the pharmaceutical industry.

It offers efficient virtual modeling, simulation, and optimization of processes with a user-friendly interface, extensive pre-built models, and robust data analytics capabilities. With a customer-centric approach, Basetwo enhances operational efficiency, reduces costs, and accelerates product development.

Basetwo, to date, has helped several Fortune 500 companies reduce material usage and operating costs by 40% while reducing energy consumption by 25%. To explore what’s possible with Basetwo, book your demo now.