This has the potential to transform the biotechnology industry, which has some of the highest capital expenditures as a percentage of sales of any industry sector in the United States. In the short term, outsourcing minimizes up-front capital. The model of a remote laboratory also helps firms minimize short- and long-term costs. When things do not go as planned, there will be data that can show scientists what went wrong where, allowing them to iterate on protocols more rapidly. By using programmed robots to complete experiments, scientists will not only know the exact protocol through which their experiment was carried out, but they will also be able to collect real-time data at every step of the process. Issues with reproducibility of lab results have long plagued the biological sciences. Experiments will be “better” because laboratory automation, particularly the use of pre-validated, ready-made protocols, limits process variability and error. Transcriptic’s process creates value for companies by helping them run better experiments at lower costs. A typical Transcriptic workcell, featuring robotic arms and automated machines to complete lab processes. Customers then send the biological samples needed for their experiments to the Transcriptic lab, where the protocol will be completed in a fully automated laboratory. For more complex experiments, customers work with the Transcriptic team to develop custom protocols. These protocols have been tested and validated by Transcriptic’s team of scientists and engineers. Anyone who wants to carry out an experiment-from graduate students to scientists at major firms-can access the Transcriptic website and input their experimental protocol using Autoprotcol, Transcriptic’s “formal language for specifying experimental protocols.” For those not looking to write their own program, Transcriptic offers over ten pre-made protocols for industry-standard processes, such as genome isolation and editing. By using automated processes, Transcriptic minimizes human error and helps scientists get one step closer to true results. Most importantly, Transcriptic’s use of digital technology eliminates one of the basic problems of scientific research: human errors or inconsistencies that obscure results. Utilizing digital technology both to communicate with customers and to manage and run laboratory processes, Transcriptic fulfills clients’ experimental protocols through fully-automated laboratory services, reducing human and physical capital costs.
Transcriptic, a remote, robotic laboratory, is creating new value for biotechnology firms of all sizes.
But in recent years, a new firm has leveraged digital innovation to transform and expand the value proposition of the traditional CRO. Some firms skirt these challenges by outsourcing the actual running of their experiments to Contract Research Organizations (CROs), which themselves have become a $25 billion industry.
Yet, the sector is plagued by serious hindrances to innovation, including high up-front capital costs, a crisis in reproducibility of results, and underutilization of human capital. Innovations in biotechnology-better pharmaceutical products, clearer understanding of the human genome, genetic modification of consumables-offer some of the most exciting opportunities to transform the human condition in the 21 st century.
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