{"id":15730,"date":"2016-11-17T15:12:43","date_gmt":"2016-11-17T20:12:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/transcriptic-coding-the-laboratory-of-the-future\/"},"modified":"2016-11-17T15:12:43","modified_gmt":"2016-11-17T20:12:43","slug":"ditch-your-pipettes-transcriptic-is-the-laboratory-of-the-future","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/ditch-your-pipettes-transcriptic-is-the-laboratory-of-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Ditch Your Pipettes: Transcriptic is the Laboratory of the Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

Innovations in biotechnology\u2014better pharmaceutical products, clearer understanding of the human genome, genetic modification of consumables\u2014offer some of the most exciting opportunities to transform the human condition in the 21st<\/sup> century. 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. 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.[1]<\/a> But in recent years, a new firm has leveraged digital innovation to transform and expand the value proposition of the traditional CRO.<\/p>\n

Transcriptic, a remote, robotic laboratory, is creating new value for biotechnology firms of all sizes. Utilizing digital technology both to communicate with customers and to manage and run laboratory processes, Transcriptic fulfills clients\u2019 experimental protocols through fully-automated laboratory services, reducing human and physical capital costs. Most importantly, Transcriptic\u2019s use of digital technology eliminates one of the basic problems of scientific research: human errors or inconsistencies that obscure results. By using automated processes, Transcriptic minimizes human error and helps scientists get one step closer to true results.<\/p>\n

This is how they do it. Anyone who wants to carry out an experiment\u2014from graduate students to scientists at major firms\u2014can access the Transcriptic website and input their experimental protocol using Autoprotcol, Transcriptic\u2019s \u201cformal language for specifying experimental protocols.\u201d[2]<\/a> 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.[3]<\/a> These protocols have been tested and validated by Transcriptic\u2019s team of scientists and engineers. For more complex experiments, customers work with the Transcriptic team to develop custom protocols. 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.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A typical Transcriptic workcell, featuring robotic arms and automated machines to complete lab processes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Transcriptic\u2019s process creates value for companies by helping them run better experiments at lower costs. Experiments will be \u201cbetter\u201d because laboratory automation, particularly the use of pre-validated, ready-made protocols, limits process variability and error. Issues with reproducibility of lab results have long plagued the biological sciences.[5]<\/a> 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. 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.<\/p>\n

The model of a remote laboratory also helps firms minimize short- and long-term costs. In the short term, outsourcing minimizes up-front capital. 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.[6]<\/a> Anyone with an idea (and the technical know-how to navigate the Autoprotocol system) can use Transcriptic\u2019s services to carry out their experiment in a reliable, reproducible manner.<\/p>\n

Turning these digital protocol into real experiments through the use of automated lab equipment reduces short- and long-term human capital costs. The need for skilled laboratory labor to carry out complex experiments has been one of the driving forces behind the culture of apprenticeship in the sciences that sees up-and-coming talent spending many years in the labs of star scientists, performing critical but dull lab tasks.[7]<\/a> Ultimately, eliminating the need to complete \u201cgrunt work\u201d in a lab could open up the industry to a greater inflow of talent, and allowed trained and trainee scientists to spend more of their time developing new experiments and analyzing results rather than physically sitting at a lab bench.<\/p>\n

Despite the potential transformative power of its model, Transcriptic still faces many risks as it grows. It needs to earn the trust of its customers. Intellectual property is the life blood of the life sciences. As such, Transcriptic needs to prove that its employees and its systems can be trusted to protect information from competitors or leaks. \u00a0Privacy and security requirements would be even greater if Transcriptic aims to market it services to biotech companies receiving funding from government agencies like the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which budgeted around $300 million for its biological technologies office in 2014 alone.[8]<\/a> And, in an industry already worth $25 billion prior to the significant new value created by digital innovation, competition is likely to be fierce. Competitor Emerald Cloud Lab is already offering similar services. Transcriptic will need to continue to improve its processes, develop a library of validated protocols, and educate potential clients on its Autoprotocol language to maintain a competitive edge in what will become an increasingly crowded marketplace.<\/p>\n

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Word Count: 785<\/p>\n

\n

[1]<\/a> Vassili Van Der Mersch, \u201cExploring the Cloud Laboratory: Advances in Biotech & Science-as-a-Service,\u201d Nordic APIs Blog<\/em>, May 17, 2016. http:\/\/nordicapis.com\/exploring-the-cloud-laboratory-advances-in-biotech-science-as-a-service\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Autoprotocol Website, 2016. http:\/\/autoprotocol.org\/about\/index.html<\/a><\/p>\n

[3]<\/a>Transcriptic Website, 2016. \u00a0https:\/\/learn.transcriptic.com\/crispr\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> For a list of the equipment available for programming in the Transcriptic lab, see https:\/\/www.transcriptic.com\/workcells\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> See for example C. Glenn Begley and Lee M. Ellis\u2019s 2012 study on cancer research, which found that of the 53 landmark cancer research studies, only 11% had reproducible results. (C. Glenn Begley and Lee M. Ellis, \u201cDrug Development: Raise Standards for Preclinical Cancer Research,\u201d Nature<\/em> vol. 483, 29 March 2012, p. 531-533, http:\/\/www.nature.com\/nature\/journal\/v483\/n7391\/full\/483531a.html#affil-auth<\/a> )<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Aswath Damodaran, \u201cCapital Expenditures by Sector (US).\u201d January 2016. http:\/\/pages.stern.nyu.edu\/~adamodar\/New_Home_Page\/datafile\/capex.html<\/a><\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Howard Gardner, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and William Damon, Good Work: When Excellence and Ethics Meet<\/em>, (New York: Basic Books, 2001); Jason Choi, \u201cThis Secretive Startup is Revolutionizing Scientific Research,\u201d Huffington <\/em>Post June 15, 2016, http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/jason-choi\/this-secretive-startup-is_b_10356182.html<\/a><\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Sandra I. Erwin, \u201cDARPA Biotech Office Recruiting Startups, Innovators,\u201d National Defense Magazine <\/em>Blog, November 7, 2014, http:\/\/www.nationaldefensemagazine.org\/blog\/lists\/posts\/post.aspx?ID=1662<\/a><\/p>\n

[Cover Image] Casey Newton, “Inside the Secret Robot Lab That’s Shaking Up Science,”\u00a0The Verge<\/em>, December 18, 2013\u00a0http:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2013\/12\/18\/5216738\/inside-transcriptic-the-secret-robot-lab-that’s-shaking-up-science\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Put down that pipette! 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