How automation is bringing new drugs to market

EPM speaks to Nigel Skinner, Marketing Director at Andrew Alliance about how automation is being used throughout the pharma industry and how it is helping bring new drugs to market faster.

Automated systems can be thought of as largely being linked to packaging and inspection processes but what about their use in the lab to help advance things like drug discovery?  

Automation continues to find increased adoption within the drug discovery groups of not just large pharmaceutical companies but also smaller companies, including start-ups.  An initial obvious fit was in high throughput screening (HTS) labs, to identify hits from compound libraries that may become leads for medicinal chemistry optimisation. Covid-19 has seen significant growth in the adoption of automation to accelerate vaccine development, especially at the lab bench, where the need for versatile, easy to use automation to replace laborious manual pipetting has never been greater. A key driver is to reduce error rates whilst freeing up highly skilled analysts for higher level tasks.

How else is automation being utilised throughout the lab and within drug discovery?  

Today it is being used for far more than high throughput screening (HTS). It is also being used for compound management, assay development, biochemical and cell-based screening, cell culturing, antibody/protein production and purification, and ADME-Tox assay systems, as well as applications such as next generation sequencing. Thanks to the increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI), tasks can now be performed at rates and precision beyond human capability.

Additionally, can automation be used to improve the efficacy of a therapy? (Through screening for better targeted molecules etc.). 

Yes. Automation can be used to speed up the process of screening drug-target binding in order to screen for desired therapeutic characteristics, by enabling much larger libraries to be screened in parallel using so-called ‘lights out’ automation where screening is done 24-7.

Is there a deficit of skilled lab employees who know how to work automated systems or can training be provided?  

Yes, automation systems tend to require staff specialised in Python or C++ programming in order to adapt or develop new protocols. These are a limited resource even in the largest pharma companies, and pretty much non-existent in smaller companies. Biologists and chemists are typically not trained in this area.

Does automation offer researchers more time to focus on other areas of work?  

This is one of the most important benefits of automation in the drug discovery lab. Once laborious workflows, involving considerable manual intervention, are rapidly becoming seamless.  Moreover, reduced error rates and the increasing drive to the paperless lab, is further reducing lower value activity whilst boosting productivity. Biologists can focus on accelerating their understanding of the biological pathways of disease.

Why automation is so critical for the pharmaceutical manufacturing market today.  

There are several reasons for this. The importance of throughput, productivity, remote operation, install and set-up of automation, as well as versatility, has been amplified by Covid-19. Also, the drive to the paperless lab is supported by more automated processes.

What are some of the common challenges of the automation journey specific to pharma?

Labs have a lack of skilled technicians and analysts so increased productivity is essential. We’re seeing increasingly complex workflows through things like CRISPR and NGS Library Preps. There is also a prevalence of RSI (repetitive strain injury caused by excessive pipetting e.g. in serial dilutions and concentration normalisations for library preps, screens, PCR.

What specific types of technologies are helping companies?  

AI is taking automation well beyond the limits of human capability by eliminating the need for human decision making at critical workflow chokepoints. Fully remotely programmable pipettes using cloud-native protocols facilitates ring trials, enhanced intra- and inter-lab repeatability, and proficiency testing as well as getting new less experienced staff up to speed far more quickly.

What guidance can you offer pharmaceutical manufacturers looking to invest in automation?

Today’s automation is neither as complex nor as costly as it used to be. It does not require a background in automation or programming and automation solutions can be purchased for as little as $10k, depending on requirements.

What do you think are some of the trends or upcoming technologies that have an impact on customers looking into automation?

Two rapidly evolving areas are lab 4.0/connected Lab and AI. Lab 4.0 promises a fully connected, smart lab, with digital interaction between all elements. Smart materials with sensors and actuators (e.g. for emergency cooling) make it possible to digitally monitor and control reaction vessels continuously, thereby ensuring improved safety where potentially dangerous processes are involved. Lab furniture with functional surfaces and integrated instruments and devices (including robotic systems) make standard procedures easier, while modular furniture can readily be reconfigured to create new process sequences. In this way, production can be constantly adapted to changing market needs. Furthermore, the decision rules for applying tacit human expert knowledge are readily codified by automation experts but are frequently unavailable to end users in the laboratory. AI changes that!