BRIDGEWATER, N.J.—Aiming to set a new standard for how laboratories use data to support decision-making, LabVantage Solutions Inc. and InforSense Ltd. have formed an alliance that combines their software platforms to create a laboratory informatics solution spanning discovery, development and manufacturing.
The strategic partnership integrates LabVantage's flagship Sapphire laboratory information management suite (LIMS) with InforSense's integrative analytics software platform, creating a flexible enterprise backbone for laboratory informatics. The agreement calls for LabVantage to resell InforSense along with Sapphire LIMS. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
"We're not only integrating our two technology platforms, we're also giving companies a platform that can be used across their R&D enterprise," says Ronald Kasner, vice president of LabVantage Corporate Development. "The ability to sell InforSense along with Sapphire delivers a unique solution to the marketplace that provides a one-stop shop for integrated solutions for both data management and analytical workflow automation. We're definitely seeing customers who have or who are moving in that direction."
LabVantage's Sapphire is a thin-client LIMS that is tailored to manage an organization's critical laboratory information across its worldwide R&D pipeline and manufacturing supply chain.
The InforSense platform provides integrative analytics for the enterprise, including bioinformatics, cheminformatics and analysis of SNP data from the latest generation of high-throughput genotyping platforms. The platform allows clinical researchers to browse whole patient populations on demand and drill down to individual patient histories, identify subsets of patients with particular sets of clinical attributes, understand the timing of diagnosis and sequence of treatment and align events across multiple patients.
The combined InforSense and Sapphire infrastructure leverages the modularity of both platforms to aggregate, mine and analyze data stored in Sapphire and the Sapphire modules coupled with data stored in other heterogeneous scientific and operational data sources, including in-house and proprietary R&D and manufacturing applications.
"What is unique about InforSense is that in addition to general reporting, they offer connectivity to other data sources and analytic tools," Kasner says. "We know we are partnering with someone who is not just a one-trick pony, but will also be able to connect us to their other partners."
Dave Menninger, vice president of Global Marketing & Product Management at InforSense, says the two companies' complimentary solutions will automate researchers' handling of data entry management, connectivity to lab instruments, and reporting and analytics.
"The boundaries of our partnership with LabVantage are easy and natural," Menninger says. "Where customers may have used manual processes to prepare data for analysis, now they will be able to do so in an automated fashion. This will improve their total cost of ownership and the longevity of a solution that eliminates the need to get a contract with another provider to make modifications."
Both companies are seeing the market head in this direction, evolving from custom solutions to package solutions, Menninger adds.
"Long-term, the way this impacts the market is that more and more capabilities are being delivered right out of the box," he says. "This is a natural evolution, and the enterprise solution created by LabVantage and Inforsense can help people put together more pieces of the puzzle." DDN
