The Life Sciences; Where are we now, and where are we going?

Over the final decade, we have witnessed large breakthroughs inside of the daily life sciences sector. What do you personally imagine to be some of the most amazing achievements in modern years, and what part do you believe new technological innovation has performed in these developments?

Usually, breakthroughs are constantly related to new systems. Some of the largest technologies that have remodeled the everyday living sciences sector of class consist of NGS and gene enhancing.

Connected to gene editing, there are a lot of exciting developments happening in   Cell and Gene Therapies, particularly the work around AAV and CAR-T. A nice example where life sciences and Biopharma success is connected, together perhaps under “personalized medicine through advancements in genomics”.

Other breakthroughs have occurred regarding microbiome therapies, RNA mRNA therapies, or antibody therapies. For any of these exciting advancing areas, we enable the path forward with  automation and connectivity of instruments and digitization in general, which is why we came together in Dublin at SLAS EU.

At Azenta Life Sciences, you offer a broad range of products and services across a variety of sectors within the life sciences, including agriculture, biobanking, and pharma. Please tell us more about some of the products/services you offer and the importance of being able to help multiple sectors within life sciences research to ‘accelerate discovery, development, and delivery’?

Given that the typical workflow starts with sample collection and then on to sample identification, storage, processing, and analysis, most would agree that accelerating these workflows often requires automation.

From the simplest to the most complex products in our portfolio, we partner with our customers to find solutions that accelerate workflows and drive automation wherever possible. A great example of this is our sample collection tubes. Prior to COVID, many people were still using very simple, non-coded tubes with a sticky label on the side, but when COVID hit, and the demand went up significantly, those tubes were creating lots of issues in automation because these sticky labels occasionally came off the tubes, which was not only a problem for sample identification but also caused automated lines to come to a full stop.

Our tubes however are tri-coded with a laser-etched, permanent 2D code on the base, and a linear and human-readable code on the side, which means the codes never come off the tube – the perfect automation solution. Secondly, it is important not to forget that the sample, which actually holds the highest value, is in contact with these tubes at all times, and that sample integrity is the most important thing in every workflow. Our tubes are made from virgin medical-grade polymer, ensuring that no leachables or extractables are coming off the tube. Preserving the sample is of the utmost importance, regardless of the sample type or industry.

Image Credit: Sergey Nivens/Shutterstock.com

Many of the products on your site, including your sample store, not only offer maximum productivity but are also designed to fit in today’s standard lab. With laboratory space becoming increasingly challenging, how important was it to you that your products will easily integrate into the lab? What benefits does this have for both user experience and research?

These days, laboratory and bench space is at a premium. That said, our customers naturally need to bring in new equipment and technologies to meet their ever-changing needs. The benefit of our equipment having a smaller footprint means that it can fit within limited space, leading to increased throughput and efficiency. Of course, the total benefit, in the end, is increased productivity and profitability for the customer.

You exhibited at SLAS EU 2022. Can you tell us more about what you exhibited here and what was displayed at your booth?

SLAS and SLAS EU, of course, are two of the most important shows for Azenta Life Sciences. We prominently displayed our consumables and instruments, including multiple automation friendly sample tubes of various working volumes. We also highlighted connected instruments, such as semi-automated/ automated cappers, decappers, and readers. Additionally, our newly launched product, a semi-automated handheld decapper was one of the ten finalists of the New Product Award at SLAS EU.

We presented PCR plates and microplate consumables, as well as automated sealers and de-sealers. In general, these automated instruments can be used as standalone benchtop devices or fully integrated into an automation workflow.

Finally, we have a broad range of services available including sample sourcing, genomics and analytical services, sample storage, as well as data and informatics that we discussed at both shows that enable our customers to streamline their research needs.

One notable area of focus for you is surrounding genomics, with GENEWIZ offering genomic services to your customers. Why was genomics a particular choice for Azenta, and how do your product offerings and the genomic services fit together from a strategic perspective?

With the acquisition of GENEWIZ in 2018, we gained over 20 years of experience in genomics, sequencing technologies, and gene synthesis, particularly. With that acquisition, we could support a sample’s entire life cycle, from sample collection to sample storage. Finally, sample analysis allowed us to add way more value to the samples under our care.

Genomics Solutions by Azenta Life SciencesPlay