Laboratory Automation
It's surprising how much pharmaceutical research to date has been more art than science. Computing power is still a long way off predicting the properties of proteins and cells from their DNA, so until then the more research that can be accelerated by automation (e.g. lab robots, lab-on-chip) the better.
And this is being driven by the big pharma companies who can't afford the failure rate at late stage drug development, or worse after release which can result in multi-billion law suits. I attended an excellenty talk by the chief scientific office for GE Healthcare recently and they are mass producing stem cell lines, and the machinery to test them, so that drugs can be tested for cardio-toxicity much earlier on in the development process.
Resources
Ionis Pharmaceuticals
- Leader in discovering and developing RNA-targeted therapeutics.
NaNotics
- Company developing a novel nano-medicine platform for treating multiple diseases, including cancer, sepsis, auto-immune disorders and the harmful effects of aging.
Oryzon Genomics
- Company developing selective epigenetic drugs.
4SC AG
- Company developing innovative cancer drugs.
Ponce De Leon Health (PDLH)
- Developer of a health formulation comprised of GRAS components.
Shionogi
- Japanese pharmaceutical company best known for developing Crestor.
Celgene
- Company developing therapies for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases.
Emulate, Inc.
- Company creating living platforms that emulate the complexities of human biology.
ImmBio
- Company developing next-generation vaccines against infectious diseases.
Eidos Therapeutics
- Biotech company developing novel, genetically targeted therapies to improve the lives of patients.
Laboratory Automation Blog Posts
Laboratory Automation - only the white coats remain
24-Apr-2015
Recent News
Automated manufacturing of custom-engineered cell lines
News Medical - 20-May-2020
This technology is very promising and has an enormous potential
Read more...COVID-19 advanced testing lab created by UC Berkeley scientists
University of California, Berkeley - 30-Mar-2020
In response to mass testing needs, they employ robotics and automation for accuracy and speed
Read more...Professor emphasizes power of AI in faster development of new drugs
University of Toronto - 23-Jan-2020
Unimaginable potential of AI yet to be discovered and applied in medicine
Read more...
