LABORATORY INFORMATICS GUIDE 2018 www.scientific-computing.com/lig2018 FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING WORLD AGILAB SCIENCE Powered by We don’t only provide LIMS, ELN or LES applications. We go beyond. Unified Laboratory Digital Platform Material Stability Formulations management Biology R&D studies Quality Equipment management management Chemistry R&D Interfaces & Security & Analytical data exchange Quality compliance testing control Resource management Embedded www.agilab.com analytics CONTENTS | LABORATORY INFORMATICS GUIDE 2018 WELCOME Over the few years that Europa Science has been producing the AGILAB SCIENCE Laboratory Informatics Guide, one constant has been the fact that the informatics industry does not stand still for long. On page 4 of this publication, we look at the effect that artificial RESHAPING THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE 4 intelligence (AI) technology is having on healthcare research, and the huge potential it has to shape the future. Combining traditional Robert Roe explores the use of artificial intelligence laboratory informatics processes with AI technology could open technology in healthcare and medicinal research up huge potential to advance research and provide faster and more specialised treatments to patients. The technology can be used to Powered by AGE OF DISRUPTION 8 approximate human cognition of complex medical data freeing A look back over the last 12 months, focussing on the researchers to work on other areas of the work and accelerating technology and processes driving trends in the laboratory research or helping a physician to get to an accurate diagnosis in We don’t only provide LIMS, less time. THE FUTURE OF LABORATORY INFORMATICS 12 It is clear that this is a time of real disruption in informatics, as we find on page 8. While some laboratories still cling to ELN or LES applications. Robert Roe discusses potentially disruptive technologies traditional processes and paper-based workflows, there is huge and their impact on the laboratory informatics market We go beyond. potential for a new world of integrated technologies that can enable SYNERGY BETWEEN MAN AND MACHINE 18 new research or increase a laboratory’s throughput or capability for collaboration. The failure of a candidate drug can cost millions – so many Many of these technologies have been around for some time chemists are turning to software that provides modelling but are now becoming a reality through a convergence between capabilities and multi-parameter optimisation availability of applications, data, IoT technologies and AI/machine Unified Laboratory Digital Platform learning capabilities – all tied together through cloud computing. DATA LAKES AND CLOUD COMPUTING 22 There are lessons that can be learnt from informatics providers and Data types used are advancing from the simple text formats their users who are making use of these technologies to disrupt of old, writes Paul Denny-Gouldson traditional laboratory processes. One page 12 key industry leaders back up this assertion with Material Stability NEWS 24 their views on the last 12 months, as well as making predictions for the next couple of years in laboratory informatics – and analysing management studies A look back at some of the key news stories from 2017 Formulations Biology R&D the driving factors for change or innovation in the laboratory. INCREASING PRECISION 28 There’s a round-up of some of the key news stories of the last 12 months, while we have a comprehensive list of suppliers… making Robert Roe looks at the use of precision medicine and its the Laboratory Informatics Guide the must-have publication for 2018! potential impact on laboratory informatics software Quality Equipment SUPPLIERS DIRECTORY 32 Robert Roe Editor management management Chemistry R&D EDITORIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM Managing Editor: Tim Gillett ([email protected]) Editor: Robert Roe ([email protected]) Feature Writer: Paul Denny-Gouldson Interfaces & Security & Circulation/readership enquiries: [email protected] Analytical data exchange Quality compliance ADVERTISING TEAM Advertising Sales Manager: Mike Nelson ([email protected]) Tel: +44 (0) 1223 221039 Fax +44 (0) 1223 213385 testing control Advertising Production: David Houghton ([email protected]) Tel: +44 (0) 1223 221034 Fax: +44 (0) 1223 213385 CORPORATE TEAM Managing Director: Warren Clark Web: www.scientific-computing.com SUBSCRIPTIONS: The Laboratory Informatics Guide 2017 is published by Europa Science Ltd, which also publishes Scientific Computing World. 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Postmaster: Send address corrections to Scientific Computing World PO Box 437, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437. analytics COVER: Kentoh/Shutterstock.com www.scientific-computing.com/lig2018 | 3 LABORATORY INFORMATICS GUIDE 2018 | ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AI RESHAPES THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE Robert Roe explores the use of AI technology in healthcare and medicinal research technology has already made a big Cancer Center to train Watson Oncology impact in many areas of to interpret cancer patients’ clinical AI computing, inclunding enterprise information and identify individualised, and academic applications, but increasingly evidence-based treatment options. it is now being applied to healthcare As Watson Oncology’s teacher, Memorial research due to its huge potential. Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center is Combining traditional laboratory trying to create a powerful resource that informatics processes with AI technology will help inform treatment decisions for could open up huge potential to advance those who may not have access to a specialty research and provide faster and more centre such as MSK. specialised treatments to patients. The It is hoped that this collaboration will technology can be used to approximate decrease the time it takes for the latest human cognition of complex medical data, research and evidence to influence clinical freeing researchers to work on other areas practice across the broader oncology of the work and accelerating research, or community, help physicians synthesise helping a physician to get to an accurate available information, and improve patient diagnosis in less time. care. AI technology is now being applied to MSK cares for more than 130,000 people many aspects of healthcare. This ranges with cancer each year. It will use this patient from assisting patients and clinicians, data alongside specialised oncologists with cataloguing laboratory results, generating unique expertise and integrating the latest abstracts for scientific papers, precision published research – to teach Watson how medicine, accelerating research into drug to identify and treat cancer. The success of discovery and helping experts to better the MSK IBM collaboration has led to the understand disease and injuries. To create development of a genomic service using data AI requires a lot of computational power, from MSK through a collaboration between as neural networks or training algorithms IBM and Quest Diagnostics. ‘Through this collaboration, require huge amounts of data to teach the The project aims to use IBM Watson’s oncologists will have access to AI to perform a task with a high degree of core capabilities reading natural language, MSK’s expertly curated information accuracy. evaluating cases with evolving machine- If AI and machine learning techniques are learned models, and rapidly processing large about the effects and treatment combined with the large amounts of medical volumes of data to address the challenges implications of specific cancer gene research and data from LIMS and ELN facing oncologists today. alterations. This has the power to systems, AI networks can be used to help IBM and Quest Diagnostics first launched scale expertise and help improve advance research and free researchers from the new service in October 2016 to patient care’ mundane tasks. assist researchers in advancing precision medicine through the combination of responsible for many cancers, but it remains LEADING THE CHARGE cognitive computing with genomic tumour challenging for most clinicians to deliver IBM has been deploying its IBM Watson sequencing. on the promise of precision medicine, cognitive computing system in research Memorial Sloan Kettering will since it requires specialised expertise and a centres and hospitals for a number of years supplement Watson’s corpus of scientific time-consuming