What’s Changing and What’s Staying the Same
The pharmaceutical industry manufactures and distributes a vast array of medicines worldwide. Alongside this production, extensive research and stringent regulatory requirements generate a wealth of documentation that must be translated to meet local ethics and regulatory requirements. Translation companies have become pivotal partners in meeting these regulatory demands. However, as new players push for changes, what is going to change—and what isn’t?
Firstly, let’s examine the drivers of change. Technology is rapidly advancing, regulatory standards are becoming more stringent, turnaround times are tightening, and the importance of data security and cultural nuances is growing. These factors are reshaping the technical translation industry significantly. So, what can we expect to change in the pharmaceutical translation industry?
Let’s start with the buzzword of the moment—you guessed it: AI. AI tools are reshaping translation technology, similar to past innovations like Translation Memories (TMs) and Machine Translation (MT) in the 1990s. Regulatory demands are evolving alongside greater accessibility to information, prompting regulatory agencies to demand higher quality from translated documentation—an encouraging development. Data security concerns are more relevant, which is what you would expect. The inclusion of speakers of foreign languages is a new frontier, exemplified by Vietnamese becoming an official language in San Francisco, CA, in 2024.
What shouldn’t change—at least in the short term? The need for human oversight in selecting, training, applying, and verifying AI is crucial. Quality AI isn’t cheap, and prompt engineers, translators, and reviewers are still needed for necessary corrections and adaptations. This is true not only for quality-critical tasks: McDonald’s decision to remove AI-powered ordering tools from its US drive-thrus in 2024 underscores the ongoing importance of human involvement. Cultural adaptation, particularly in translating Informed Consent Forms (ICFs), will continue to rely on experienced translators and reviewers. Ethical considerations and meeting specific local regulatory standards remain distinctly human tasks, where translation company expertise shines.
The next few years, perhaps not just 2025 and 2026, will likely be remembered for intensive collaboration. Translators, reviewers, and proofreaders will collaborate closely with researchers, study coordinators, medical managers, and quality assurance specialists, increasingly empowered by novel tech tools specific to their roles. This collaboration promises an exciting and promising future without a doubt.
