Irish blockchain firm ServBlock secures EU funding to build manufacturing data space for pharma

Wicklow, Ireland-based ServBlock, a blockchain and pharmaceutical compliance company, announced on Tuesday that it has secured funding along with Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) to build a trusted data exchange system for outsourced pharmaceutical manufacturing. 

Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) is a Research and Technology Organisation that provides a portfolio of research, training, and consultancy services to industry across the following four thematic pillars: Digitisation, Sustainable manufacturing, Design for Manufacturing, and Robotics and Automation. 

Adrian Hovenden, IMR’s Industrial Solutions Architect, says, “Irish Manufacturing Research is delighted to have worked with IMR Member, ServBlock, to successfully secure the i4Trust funding for MANU SPACE. Collaborating with IMR members to create impactful solutions for the Irish manufacturing industry, such as this Data Space, is key to ensuring the continued growth and development of the sector. IMR is excited to participate in this consortium and facilitate improvements in patient outcomes through pharmaceutical manufacturing and supply chain improvements.”

ServBlock is leading the consortium that includes NEXA | EAM (Cork), Ingeniero Solutions, Unison Process Solutions, and Plant Quest, offering a test case for trusted data transfer in pharma supply chains. 

EU’s i4Trust programme supports the project by funding innovative research and development projects. In addition, the funds will help the consortium to bring experts together from various fields, including data science, manufacturing, and engineering, to develop data space. 

A dataspace brings together data from different sources and makes it accessible and usable for various purposes, such as research, analysis, or decision-making. 

Leveraging the manufacturing data space, pharmaceutical companies can ensure contract manufacturers adhere to the same integrity, compliance, and quality operations as in-house manufacturing.

ServBlock: What you need to know

Founded in 2021, Servblock developed a patent-pending blockchain compliance management tool that ensures pharmaceutical and healthcare companies achieve quality compliance through trusted data exchange. 

John Ward, CEO and founder of ServBlock, says, “We are excited to be a part of this important project and look forward to working with our partners to bring the manufacturing data space to life. Coming on the back of our recent collaboration with Microsoft, this opportunity will allow ServBlock to continue accelerating growth while being at the forefront of the Data Space movement.”