3 Pharmaceutical Success Stories: Develop Drugs More Quickly Using COMSOL Multiphysics

In the highly competitive pharmaceutical industry, innovation and efficiency are vital. Modeling and simulation using COMSOL Multiphysics enables companies to streamline drug development, enhance manufacturing processes, and improve product quality. The text that follows highlights three user stories demonstrating how pharmaceutical leaders are leveraging COMSOL Multiphysics to accelerate research, optimize production, and ensure regulatory compliance. 

What is COMSOL Multiphysics?

COMSOL Multiphysics is a powerful modeling and simulation software that enables chemists to optimize complex pharmaceutical processes. Through its ability to create accurate, fully-coupled multiphysics- and single-physics models, it supports the development of innovative pharmaceutical solutions, reduces costs, and enhances product quality and safety.

COMSOL Multiphysics offers a comprehensive suite of tools tailored to various pharmaceutical applications. Whether you’re modeling drug delivery systems, diffusion processes, or biopharmaceutical interactions, the software can analyze and display complex phenomena such as heat and mass transfer, fluid dynamics, and chemical reactions. 

Why use COMSOL Multiphysics in pharmaceutical R&D?

Before we dive into the user stories, let’s highlight some key benefits and features of using COMSOL Multiphysics in the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries:

• Multiphysics modeling for pharmaceutical challenges: From drug delivery systems to manufacturing process optimization, COMSOL Multiphysics is designed to meet the unique needs of the pharmaceutical industry.
• Simulate real-world complexity: Simulation of coupled physical phenomena such as chemical reactions, fluid dynamics, and heat transfer in a single platform.
• Faster, smarter decision-making: Reduce development cycles, eliminate costly trial-and-error, and bring safer, more effective products to market faster.
• Optimize drug development: Accelerate timelines with simulations that enhance drug formulation and delivery.
• Enhance production efficiency: Model critical processes to improve yield and reduce waste in manufacturing.
• Achieve quality assurance: Validate sterilization and packaging with comprehensive simulations to ensure regulatory compliance.
• Drive medical device innovations: Leverage multiphysics simulations for cutting-edge diagnostics and therapeutic devices.
• Ensure effective distribution: Simulate stability and transport conditions to maintain product efficacy throughout the supply chain.

Additionally, biomedical and pharmaceutical companies can achieve up to: 

• 27% in cost reduction;
• 48% time-to-market acceleration; and
• 32% reduction in trials and errors.

3 Pharmaceutical Success Stories

Amgen

Amgen employs COMSOL Multiphysics to model drug production processes. By simulating complex physiological and chemical interactions, they ensure drug efficacy and safety more efficiently. The platform’s versatility supports development challenges and enables the creation of simulation apps that empower those without formal training to contribute insights. This approach reduces trial-and-error, trims project costs by over 27%, and reduces time-to-market by nearly half.

Read the full user story

Veryst Engineering & Nordson EFD

Veryst Engineering collaborated with Nordson EFD to optimize static mixers used for laminar viscous fluid processing. Traditional CFD methods faced limitations like numerical diffusion, which impairs mixing quality. Through advanced simulations in COMSOL, they minimized diffusion, achieving superior mixing uniformity and product consistency—critical for pharmaceutical formulations and ensuring high-quality manufacturing standards.

Read the full user story

Roche Diagnostics Operations

Roche Diagnostics utilized COMSOL to refine test strip manufacturing and sensor design. Simulating various physical phenomena enabled them to reduce sensitivity issues, improve device reliability, and accelerate product development. These enhancements help meet stringent regulatory standards, which is crucial to ensure reliable diagnostics and enhance patient outcomes.

Read the full user story 

Conclusion

These stories exemplify how COMSOL Multiphysics supports the pharmaceutical sector in overcoming complex challenges—streamlining development, improving manufacturing, and ensuring compliance. By embracing simulation-driven approaches, pharma companies can reduce costs, accelerate timelines, and deliver safer, more effective products to market faster.

Learn more 

• White Paper: 11 Critical Pharma Processes Enhanced by COMSOL Simulation
  This whitepaper offers a clear, practical overview of how simulation supports pharmaceutical processes—from improving product quality to optimizing manufacturing and driving innovation.
  Read more
• Blog: Critical Role of Modeling and Simulation in Drug Development
  Discover how modeling and simulation are transforming drug development—enhancing efficiency, safety, and cost-effectiveness in bringing new medicines to market.
  Read more
• Blog: Pioneering the Future of Drug Development with Modeling and Simulation.
  In this thorough exploration, we highlight the capabilities of modeling and simulation in drug development by providing an overview, use cases, and examples. You will also learn about the industry’s preferred tool: COMSOL Multiphysics. Read on to discover how simulation has turbocharged pharmaceutical development.
  Read more
• On-demand webinar: Introduction to Simulation for Pharma and Biotech Industries.
  By the end of this webinar, you will have a basic understanding of the simulation workflow and select physics features of a tableting process, chemical reactions, and features related to pharma and biotech.
  Watch now