Stuck with outdated, inefficient systems?
You’re juggling costly legacy systems and expanding regulatory demands. This complexity slows down every step from drug discovery to market release.
The pressure to modernize is immense. But choosing the wrong software platform can waste millions in investment and set your critical research back years.
A PwC report found that 53% of pharmaceutical finance leaders prioritize AI to automate processes. This highlights the industry-wide push against these operational bottlenecks.
But the right platform solves this. It helps by automating compliance and accelerating development, letting you focus on breakthroughs, not administrative bottlenecks.
In this guide, I’ll show you the best pharmaceutical industry software to scale your discoveries. I’ve reviewed solutions built to handle complex compliance and legacy system integrations.
You’ll discover how to choose tools that reduce development timelines, ensure seamless compliance, and future-proof your entire operation for long-term growth.
Let’s get started.
Quick Summary:
| # | Software | Rating | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veeva Systems → | Mid-sized pharma companies | |
| 2 | IQVIA → | IT & procurement leaders | |
| 3 | Körber Pharma → | Pharma manufacturing IT directors | |
| 4 | QbDVision → | Mid-sized biopharma firms | |
| 5 | Benchling → | R&D teams in scaling orgs |
1. Veeva Systems
Are complex pharmaceutical workflows slowing your progress?
Veeva Systems offers integrated cloud solutions designed to modernize critical processes across R&D, quality, and commercial operations.
This means you can streamline drug development and manufacturing, addressing the pain points of fragmented systems and manual compliance checks by centralizing your efforts. You’ll gain greater efficiency and impact across your entire organization.
Here’s how to scale your discoveries.
Veeva’s solutions, including Clinical, Regulatory, Quality, Safety, Medical, and Commercial Suites, are built to deliver lasting value and accelerate project timelines. For instance, the Veeva Clinical Platform accelerates study timelines by connecting teams with sites and patients, improving visibility and transparency throughout the trial process.
Additionally, Veeva LIMS helps optimize QC labs for real-time batch release, while Veeva QMS lets you manage all quality processes in one place, consolidating operations from 40 systems down to a single unified one for some customers. This holistic approach ensures compliance, reduces rework, and provides integrated data for faster insights.
The result? Streamlined operations and faster time to market for your products.
Key features:
- Complete Clinical Platform: Accelerates study timelines, manages trials end-to-end, and facilitates site activation for faster research.
- Unified Quality Management: Consolidates quality processes, ensures GxP document control, and optimizes QC labs for confident batch release.
- Integrated Commercial Solutions: Improves sales and marketing execution, centralizes customer data, and provides deep KOL insights for better engagement.
Veeva Systems features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict: Veeva Systems offers a comprehensive, cloud-based approach that makes it one of the best pharmaceutical industry software solutions for mid-sized companies aiming to achieve seamless compliance and accelerated development. Their focus on unified platforms helps reduce rework and can lead to 50% faster clinical study builds and 50% faster time to market for promotional content.
2. IQVIA
Struggling with complex pharma software evaluations?
IQVIA offers comprehensive solutions across research and development, real-world evidence, commercialization, and compliance to streamline your operations. This means you can gain control over your entire drug lifecycle.
Their platform connects data, technology, and analytics to optimize your trials. You’ll experience faster decision-making and reduced risk, helping you deliver therapies to market faster.
Want to accelerate your results?
IQVIA solves complex challenges through its Human Data Science Cloud, enabling healthcare-grade analytics and data management at scale. Their AI Assistant, a generative AI tool, lets you interact with products, providing trusted insights quickly. This allows your team to leverage vast datasets and accelerate discoveries.
Additionally, IQVIA offers Decentralized Trials for engaging patients wherever they are, along with Patient Experience Solutions integrating with Apple devices. These features can help improve patient engagement and data quality. Plus, their integrated compliance solutions cover safety, regulatory, and quality across the entire lifecycle, reducing your compliance burden.
Experience seamless operations and smarter decisions.
Speaking of leveraging vast datasets, my guide on web scraping tools explains how to unlock market data and insights.
Key features:
- Intelligent Clinical Development: Optimize trials with connected data, technology, and analytics for faster decision-making and reduced risk in delivering life-changing therapies.
- Comprehensive Regulatory Compliance: Orchestrate your entire compliance lifecycle with best-in-class solutions for safety, regulatory, quality, and medical information needs.
- AI-Driven Commercialization: Elevate commercial models with precision and speed using AI-powered analytics to uncover hidden insights and drive smarter business decisions.
IQVIA features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict: IQVIA stands out as a strong contender for the best pharmaceutical industry software, specifically designed for IT and procurement leaders. With features like Healthcare-grade AI® and a Human Data Science Cloud, it tackles the pain points of data complexity and regulatory demands. Its robust offerings across R&D, commercialization, and compliance ensure accelerated approvals and minimized risks.
3. Körber Pharma
Struggling with complex pharma manufacturing modernization?
Körber Pharma offers solutions like Werum PAS-X MES, ideal for streamlining your drug development and manufacturing. This means you can integrate data analytics, track & trace, and smart packaging capabilities.
Their holistic digital approach ensures your operations are future-proof and connect digital innovation with sustainability.
How do you achieve Factory of Excellence?
Körber Pharma’s ecosystem approach delivers connected, integrated solutions specifically for pharmaceutical production. Their Werum PAS-X MES, whether installed on-site or in the cloud (including AWS and Azure options), optimizes your overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). This means maximizing productivity and adhering to global regulatory standards. Plus, their AI-powered inspection machines and comprehensive transport systems ensure seamless, automated, and secure product handling from start to finish.
This is your path to peak performance.
Key features:
- Werum PAS-X MES: A leading Manufacturing Execution System for on-site or cloud deployment, integrating data analytics, track & trace, and smart packaging to future-proof your operations.
- AI-powered Inspection Machines: High-performance, AI-supported inspection solutions, semi-automatic machines, and laboratory equipment for unparalleled quality control and in-process monitoring.
- Integrated Transport & Packaging Systems: Complete transport systems for seamless, automated, and secure product handling, alongside advanced primary and secondary packaging machines to maximize OEE.
Körber Pharma features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict: Körber Pharma stands out as a strong candidate for the best pharmaceutical industry software by providing an integrated ecosystem that addresses end-to-end supply chain needs. Its Werum PAS-X MES, AI-powered inspection, and automated transport systems are crucial for IT directors focused on compliance, reduced time-to-market, and maximizing OEE, making it a robust choice for scaling operations.
4. QbDVision
Are you struggling with complex drug development and compliance? This means QbDVision helps you modernize product lifecycle management with a platform designed specifically for biopharma. Its structured platform creates a foundation for faster development, addressing the overwhelming complexity of evaluating new software. You need a centralized hub to collect all your teams’ data and knowledge.
What if your operations were future-proofed?
QbDVision introduces a unified solution for knowledge management, centralizing all your team’s data into one searchable, cloud-based hub. This means you can build strong, scalable processes and streamline process development by creating robust, agile workflows that are easy to understand and control. You’ll seamlessly pass these on to the next project. Additionally, QbDVision provides powerful process intelligence, helping you see what every action means for the entire product lifecycle, leading to smarter strategic decisions every time. The result is accelerated breakthroughs and reduced variability in product quality.
Key features:
- Centralized Knowledge Management: Collects all your team’s data and knowledge into a single, searchable, cloud-based hub for consistent information access.
- Streamlined Process Development: Enables creation of robust, agile processes that teams can fully understand and control, easily transferable to new projects.
- Powerful Process Intelligence: Provides insights into the impact of every action across the product lifecycle, facilitating smarter strategic decision-making.
QbDVision features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict: QbDVision is an excellent choice for mid-sized pharmaceutical companies looking for the best pharmaceutical industry software because it accelerates new products to patients by centralizing knowledge, streamlining process development, and offering powerful process intelligence. Its design for biopharma specific needs helps reduce tech transfer timelines and personnel costs.
5. Benchling
Tired of slow, complex drug development?
Benchling digitizes your lab, automates workflows, and boosts productivity with AI, directly addressing your evaluation challenges. This means you can plan, record, and share experiments using a collaborative, cloud-based notebook, avoiding costly legacy system hurdles. Your team can cut manual, repetitive work, leading to faster progress without workflow disruption.
Streamline your entire research process.
Benchling helps you model and track scientific data for biomolecules, cell lines, reagents, and more, creating a unified data foundation. This allows your team to accelerate in vivo studies with modern data capture, collaboration, and insights. Additionally, you gain access to out-of-the-box integrations, custom app building, and connections for instrument data, ensuring scalability and compliance with ease. Plus, you can explore solutions tailored for gene therapy, cell therapy, and antibodies, among other next-gen modalities. The result is reaching milestones faster through an end-to-end platform for process development.
Unlock accelerated R&D for your organization.
Key features:
- Digitize and automate workflows: Plan, record, and share experiments using a cloud-based notebook, cutting manual tasks and integrating AI tools for efficiency.
- Unified data foundation: Model and track diverse scientific data, from biomolecules to reagents, creating a cohesive data model for computational science.
- Open, flexible platform: Access out-of-the-box integrations, build custom apps, and connect data from instruments, scaling securely with your science.
Benchling features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict: Benchling emerges as a strong contender for the best pharmaceutical industry software by tackling compliance and scalability pain points head-on. It offers a unified platform for R&D, automating workflows and centralizing data, which can lead to a 63% reduction in time spent on data tasks and 4 hours saved per scientist weekly, demonstrating clear ROI for your team.
6. Smartsheet
Is your pharmaceutical team overwhelmed by project complexity?
Smartsheet addresses this by helping you manage projects, automate workflows, and build solutions at scale, making operations smoother.
This means you can accelerate new product development and fast-track product launches, leading to more efficient drug development timelines.
Here’s how to scale your discoveries.
Smartsheet transforms work management into a personalized, predictive engine using AI, allowing you to operate at the speed you need.
It offers intelligent workflows and no-code work apps, enabling you to streamline processes and reduce errors. This helps accelerate new product development and ensure your projects align with organizational goals.
Additionally, Smartsheet provides robust dashboards and reporting for comprehensive oversight, alongside industry-leading security measures to keep your critical data safe and sound. Plus, its real-time collaboration tools keep all your teams connected and in the loop, regardless of location.
The result is greater control and faster progress.
While discussing streamlined operations, it’s also important to consider regulatory compliance. My guide on best regulatory change management software offers valuable insights.
Key features:
- AI-powered platform: Transforms work management into a personalized, predictive engine with intelligent formulas and data insights for faster scaling.
- Automated workflows and no-code apps: Streamlines processes, reduces errors, and saves time by automating repetitive tasks, improving efficiency and compliance.
- Comprehensive dashboards and reporting: Provides visibility into projects and portfolios, enabling better investment decisions and alignment with business needs.
Smartsheet features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict: Smartsheet is an excellent choice for mid-sized pharmaceutical companies seeking the best pharmaceutical industry software, offering AI-powered work management, robust automation, and secure collaboration. Its proven ability to manage 30% more projects with the same resources, as seen with Roche IT, makes it ideal for modernizing complex drug development and compliance workflows.
Conclusion
Modernization is no longer optional.
The wrong platform wastes millions and delays critical research. Choosing wisely is paramount for your growing pharmaceutical company to stay competitive.
The drive for efficiency is intense. A Coherent Solutions report notes that companies are training 1,000 biostatisticians on open-source tools to boost code efficiency. This highlights the industry’s shift towards more modern and adaptable technologies.
So what’s the best path forward?
After evaluating all options, I believe Veeva Systems is your top choice. It directly addresses the overwhelming need for unified, cloud-based R&D and quality management.
Its ability to consolidate quality processes from dozens of systems into one is a game-changer. I am confident it’s the best pharmaceutical industry software for accelerating development while ensuring seamless compliance.
For additional insights on improving customer interactions, my analysis of conversational support software solutions provides valuable perspectives.
I highly recommend you contact Veeva Systems to discuss how their integrated platform can transform your specific operations.
You will scale your discoveries faster.
