How lab automation is helping drug research

Austin Winder, contributing author for LOC Scientific, looks at how automation could benefit drug research and development. 

When it comes to developing prescription drugs, automation tools are no longer a luxury; rather they represent the future of pharmaceutical development. Lab work that is done by robots in a sterile area leads to an environment free of contamination, which makes the data gathered more valuable than ever before, and this will lead to useful drugs being developed more quickly and in greater numbers. Medicine as a whole will benefit as a result.

Cancer and genomic research

In particular, automation will be critical in cancer research. The population is growing and ageing, and there is increasing demand for breakthroughs in cancer-treating drugs. When it comes to precision medicine, automation will help bring down the costs of cancer drugs that are more personalised. Genomic research is also benefiting from automation because of the field's emphasis on gathering massive amounts of data, and automation will lead to better results and more sound conclusions.Automation will lead to greater efficiency in the lab, and this is speeding up every aspect of drug development. As a result, pharmaceutical companies will be able to get their new drugs through the FDA approval phase faster. As technicians are replaced by automation, costs will get even lower. This trend has already begun, and the total amount of money invested in automation is estimated to be at 1.3 billion dollars by the beginning of 2028.

Reduction of errors

Because of automation, types of human errors including mis-calibrated pipettes and transcription mistakes are disappearing. Consequently, there will be less flawed data getting into peer-reviewed journals and driving research and development in misleading directions going forward. Currently, drugs can be in the clinical phase of testing before it is understood that there are problems, and these issues cost the industry tremendously.

Hospital labs

Errors will not only be reduced in the research lab setting, but in the clinical lab setting as well. Currently, there are many needless patient deaths resulting from decisions made from flawed data produced by medical errors in hospital labs. Furthermore, the software that drives automation is growing increasingly sophisticated, and mistakes can often be avoided before they happen. High-quality software also makes it easier to keep track of expiration dates.Automated tools are now being used to eliminate problems from the most error-prone segments of diagnostic testing, and lab staff can use them to avoid tedious and physically stressful repetitive activities. In short, there will be less human fatigue and, therefore, less human error. Automation will allow scientists and lab staff to focus on analysis and leave the physical drudgery to automated tools.

The road ahead

The true number of medical and laboratory errors is unknown, but it is clear that automation will reduce them. As public disclosure makes patients more aware of how risky the lab setting currently is, demand for automation will increase.Furthermore, as pharmaceutical companies making expensive name-brand drugs struggle to compete with those making increasing numbers of generics, market forces will move the industry towards automation. Drug prices are rising around the world, and automation will be critical to lowering them.