Please tell us about LabVantage and the work that you do?
LabVantage is a leader in providing laboratory information management systems and electronic laboratory notebooks to a very broad range of industries and laboratory types. We have been doing this now for over 35+ years. We have close to 1,500 customers that we deliver solutions to with our platform, LabVantage LIMS.
What are the benefits and features of the new LabVantage 8.4 LIMS?
Each year we come out with a new release of our product that has evolved and expanded in its capabilities. We have added some new functionality to the platform to be able to address certain customer needs based on their feedback.
The big improvement in 8.4 is our new Work Assignment and Resource Planning module, which helps with lab efficiency and productivity. It allows laboratory managers to see current and upcoming scheduled work and make assignments based on the availability of individuals and user groups according to their corporate calendars and lab resources. It also displays the calendar availability, existing work assignments, work capacity, and the certification status of the facility’s instruments. Testing master data can be configured to identify preferred laboratory instruments and users so that incoming work can be quickly assigned and optimized. The features in the module include many options and are designed for maximum flexibility and ease of use
Tell us how the LabVantage 8.4 LIMS meets the newest FDA guidelines?
The FDA and other agencies have been very pro-active in publishing new standards for data integrity and compliance. Over 60% of the LabVantage user base is regulated by one government agency or another, and so we cater to that very closely.
When new guidelines come out, LabVantage usually reacts before they become regulation. We get a lot of feedback from our pharma and life science customers to let us know what they need ahead of time, and to make sure everything is compliant.
One of those areas has to do with data integrity. The guidance that came from the FDA had some new indications of compliance that were necessary for computer systems like ours. We enhanced our product to be able to adhere to those regulations when they came out.
This was particularly in the areas of data entry and data integrity, and temporary memory - entering results that have not been committed to the database yet. It allows us to be able to manage and audit things in order to be compliant even before we commit to the database.
With markets such as the food and beverage, oil and gas, and chemical process manufacturing, how does the new update and the new product help regulate them?
Each of those industries has a different regulation. The most strict industry tends to be pharmaceuticals, and food and beverage companies, because they are now under a variety of different food safety acts. The system obviously has some security controls, audit trails, version controlling and data integrity capabilities, to make sure that they are fully compliant.
In other areas like oil and gas, although they are not regulated to the same rigor as food and beverage, they do want to run good laboratory practices. Those capabilities are built into the system already.
Can you tell us about the other applications that will benefit?
As I mentioned, we do a lot of work in the pharmaceutical industry. We have built what are called Project Accelerators. These are pre-packaged solutions that are geared towards specific laboratory industries and types.
One of them is called LabVantage Pharma for the pharma industry. We provide a pre-validated and pre-configured solution for that industry, which is unique. No other vendor does that. We also cater to biobanks (biorepository specimen management banks), and the diagnostics base (clinical and molecular diagnostic labs). And for general manufacturing that is non-pharmaceutical, we have a quality solution for them.
We also have an oil and gas accelerator for refining manufacturing and chemical manufacturing.
Image Credit:Shutterstock/Microgen
Could you tell me really what sets your product apart? How does it compare to others in the market?
We are unique in our technology. LabVantage is one of the only vendors that supplies and provides access to the system through a browser. There is no client to install on your desktop, tablet or workstation. If you have a browser, you have access to the system.
We also fully support portable computing technologies. LabVantage has also now fully embraced cloud technology for hosting of the system. Servers can be in-house or out in the cloud if necessary.
What is in store for the future? What can we expect to see?
As I mentioned, we do meet with a large body of our customer base every year. This is an opportunity for them to voice their needs and concerns or desires.
One of the areas that we are going to be focusing on very heavily is a new solution for scientific data management. All the raw data that the instruments are generating typically stays on the PC that generated them. We are going to gather up that data, put it into a database, protect and index it, and make it accessible.
About Labvantage
LabVantage Solutions, Inc. is the leading global laboratory informatics provider. Our industry-leading LIMS and ELN solution and world-class services are the result of 35+ years of experience in laboratory informatics. LabVantage offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services that enable companies to innovate faster in the R&D cycle, improve manufactured product quality, achieve accurate recordkeeping and comply with regulatory requirements.
LabVantage is a highly configurable, web-based LIMS/ELN that powers hundreds of laboratories globally, large and small. Built on a platform that is widely recognized as the best in the industry, LabVantage can support hundreds of concurrent users as well as interface with instruments and other enterprise systems. It is the best choice for industries ranging from pharmaceuticals and consumer goods to molecular diagnostics and bio banking. LabVantage domain experts advise customers on best practices and maximize their ROIs by optimizing LIMS implementation with a rapid and successful deployment.
US pharmaceutical industry continues to shine according to CPhI 2019 Annual Report