Scaling fast-growing life sciences companies in the UK with automation
Over the past few years, the life sciences industry has been accelerating at a rapid rate. From scientists developing innovative diagnostic processes for COVID-19 testing, to the discovery of a flurry of ground-breaking gene therapies for rare diseases – the UK is well on its way to becoming the ‘scientific superpower’ the Government aspires it to be.
However, if we are to maintain this momentum, the infrastructure and technology these fast-growing companies are using must be as cutting-edge as their scientific discoveries. While lab automation is critical to maintaining this momentum, it is severely underutilised in the industry. In practice, automation is typically limited to single instruments that still require highly trained lab workers to conduct the repetitive tasks, such as pipetting or moving plates in and out of instruments.
This is why open, integrated automation will be a key part of nurturing these companies and giving them the space and equipment to expand. Open, integrated automation connects multiple steps and instruments in a lab's workflow, allowing for true walkaway time, a reduction in manual workload, and enables scientists to dedicate their valuable time towards more research and analysis. With this approach, labs can integrate any instrument into their workflow and adapt when necessary. When scientists can work smarter with greater adaptability and higher quality data, breakthrough discoveries are more likely to emerge.
Enabling flexibility with open, integrated automation
As companies scale, their needs change, meaning their equipment must be able to keep up. With this current level of growth and innovation, a lab can no longer afford to be a space where highly educated and intelligent scientists are locked to their benches to perform easily automatable tasks. Open automation allows labs to rapidly adapt to expand their portfolio and processes, providing them with the flexibility to alter workflows directly when required, making scaling-up a much smoother process.
As the industry evolves in the wake of COVID-19, there has been a significant growth in genomic surveillance, breakthroughs in gene-editing, and increased testing in healthcare. Companies are using open, integrated automation to focus on more complex and analytical work, fundamentally driving the success of the laboratories.
In a company like bit.bio, for example, which has a rapidly expanding portfolio of human cells and disease models, being able to keep to the same speeds whilst expanding is crucial. Automating a key aspect of their manufacturing process has helped to streamline it, freeing up scientists’ time, reducing human errors, and increasing batch to batch reliability.
Maintaining high standards
High-quality and accurate findings are essential to drug discovery. Automated robots can repetitively perform the same task in exactly the same way, eliminating the risk of human error and standardising workflows. This improves the quality of data produced from experimentation, and helps scientists draw stronger, more well supported conclusions from their research.
In the case of bit.bio, the reprogramming of cells needs to be highly exact and standardised – which is ideally suited to an automated approach. Its cellular reprogramming technology, opti-ox, enables unprecedented consistency and scalability for the manufacture of human cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).
This first step in automation will increase bit.bio’s capacity to manufacture human cell products for research and drug discovery by quadrupling manufacturing output, and supports the company’s lean manufacturing approach. Ultimately, it will increase the speed at which it can deliver its products to market and support its rapidly expanding portfolio of human cells and disease models.
Partnership beyond installation
The concept of effective partnership goes far beyond simply providing the equipment for lab automation. Instead, it involves collaborating on a strategic level to understand the needs and ambitions of a company, to help them to achieve their goals and grow their business.
The most effective forms of automation can look very different for every lab, depending on the company. In order for automation to be effective, it’s important to approach it in the right way for every unique need. This means that, before automation can be implemented, it is important to first examine the existing processes in a lab and identify any issues or bottlenecks. This requires a thorough understanding of the lab's operations and workflows, as well as an ability to identify areas where automation can improve efficiency, accuracy, and productivity.
An example of this is bitbio’s partnership with Automata, where a custom-designed solution was developed for a crucial step in the production of the company’s precision reprogrammed human cells.
Conclusion
The heart and success of a lab ultimately depends on the highly qualified scientists who work there. By embracing automation, labs can empower their scientists with the tools needed to do what they do best – make discoveries that help people and the planet, and do so at pace.
In an industry where accuracy and efficiency are paramount, automation is also the key to unlocking a lab space’s full potential. With automation, fast-growing life sciences companies in the UK can scale without compromising on accuracy or speed.
About the author
Russell Green is director of Product Growth for Cell Culture at Automata, an automation provider for the life sciences industry, transforming the way labs work with open, integrated automation.
