Pharma software development for manufacturers and field teams

What a pharma company usually needs from a web app

Core systems in pharma are large and validated: ERP for manufacturing, LIMS for labs, quality management systems, regulatory information systems. These are bought from specialist vendors and are not what a development partner like us replaces. The need we meet is around the edges: tools for sales and medical teams, portals for distributors and doctors, and workflow apps for processes that now run on email and shared drives.

Typical examples are a field-force app where representatives log visits and sample distribution, a portal where healthcare professionals request medical information, a distributor order and stock portal, and an approval workflow for promotional material. Our general web app development page explains the method.

Distributors are an underserved audience. A wholesaler or stockist who can log in, see current price lists, place an order and check delivery status will phone your sales office less. Credit limits, batch and expiry information and region-specific price lists are the details that make this portal different from a generic shop.

Apps that fit and apps that do not

We list the last two rows deliberately. If you need a validated system, a specialist vendor and your quality team should lead. We can still build non-validated tools around it.

Rules that shape how the app is built

Pharma is regulated by bodies such as the FDA in the US, the MHRA in the UK, the EMA in the EU and national authorities elsewhere. Rules differ on what you may say to the public, to doctors and to patients, on record keeping and on electronic records and signatures. These are for your regulatory affairs, quality and legal teams to decide. We build features that support their decisions.

• Audit trails that record who did what, when, with a reason for changes
• Role-based access with periodic access review reports
• Electronic signature steps where your quality team defines them
• Controlled documents with version history and read-only published copies
• Separation of content aimed at professionals from content open to the public
• Data protection controls for any health or professional data, reviewed by your privacy lead

If your quality system requires computer system validation, we provide documentation such as requirements, test scripts and release notes, but the validation itself is performed and approved by your team or a specialist.

How a project runs

1. Requirements workshopWith the business owner and quality representative, so controls are known before screens are drawn.
2. SpecificationA written requirements list that both sides sign off. This also forms the base for any validation.
3. Build and testWeekly demos, with test scripts for each requirement, kept in a shared folder.
4. User acceptanceYour staff test against the requirements and record results.
5. Release and handoverRelease notes, access list, backup and restore steps, and code handover.

Field teams are often on the road with patchy signal, so mobile use is common. We test on cheap Android phones, since many field forces use them. If you need a native iOS and Android app, see our mobile app development page.

Price guidance

Projects start at $1,500 and the rate is $30 an hour. A document approval workflow for one team is a modest build. A field-force app with offline mode, sample tracking and an ERP link is larger. The need for formal documentation and testing evidence is a real price driver in this industry, because writing and running test scripts takes time. See our web app cost guide for scope levels, and AI automation for pharmaceutical companies if you want document handling support.