Overview
In this webinar, PTP and AWS experts discuss the transformation of the biotech industry, focusing on the “Biotech Lab of the Future.” The conversation centers around the rapid pace of innovation in biotech, the unique challenges that come with it, and how AWS’s Biotech Blueprint can help biotech companies streamline operations, enhance security, and accelerate their research.
The Role of Technology in Biotech
The session began with a light-hearted introduction, setting a relaxed atmosphere for what was a highly informative discussion. Gary Derheim, responsible for marketing and managed services at PTP, served as the moderator, bringing in insights from the panelists, including Ethan Simmons and Bill Amsbaugh, from PTP, and Eric Zimmerman from AWS.
Bill, a cloud architect at PTP with a background in chemistry, shared his experience of the evolution in the biotech industry over the past decade. He described how the pace of scientific research has increased significantly due to technological advancements. In the past, scientists spent a lot of time managing data manually, with instruments not networked and records kept in notebooks. Today, advancements in technology have streamlined these processes, allowing scientists to focus more on research and less on data management.
Bill highlighted the dramatic reduction in IT costs for startups, allowing them to scale at a much lower expense compared to a decade ago. This acceleration has resulted in a rapid adoption of new technologies, enabling companies to move through lab work, research, and validation faster than ever before.
AWS Biotech Blueprint: Enabling Biotech Firms
Eric from AWS explained the genesis of the Biotech Blueprint. AWS created the blueprint to address the common challenges biotech startups face, such as high infrastructure costs and complex IT management. The blueprint provides a framework to create an enterprise-grade research environment in the cloud, optimized for security, compliance, and cost. It is designed to enable scientists to focus on their research, not on managing IT infrastructure.
Eric outlined three key insights that led to the creation of the Biotech Blueprint:
- Accelerated Science: The rapid pace of scientific discovery due to enhanced operations and breakthrough technologies.
- Single Source of Truth: The need for a reliable and unified data source to manage complex biological and chemical functions.
- Simplified DevOps: Recognizing that scientists are not typically devops experts and should be able to focus on their work without the burden of managing complex infrastructure.
The Biotech Blueprint is a one-click deployment solution that takes about 30 minutes to set up. It provides a virtual data center for scientific applications and experimental data, with a focus on security, resilience, compliance, and cost optimization. This flexibility allows biotech companies to scale as they grow, eliminating the need for costly and time-consuming upgrades.
Real-World Applications and Success Stories
The panelists shared real-world examples of how the Biotech Blueprint has been used by biotech companies to accelerate their research and streamline operations. Bill discussed a specific use case where a company collaborated with Genentech Roche to work on small molecule inhibitors. By leveraging the Biotech Blueprint, they were able to rapidly deploy the necessary infrastructure and focus on their research, leading to a successful partnership.
Ethan highlighted the importance of having the right technology in place to support growth and commercialization. He noted that as biotech companies progress through different stages of development, they often require additional tools and infrastructure. The Biotech Blueprint provides the flexibility to accommodate these changing needs, helping companies accelerate their journey from research to revenue.
Conclusion
The Biotech Blueprint represents a significant step forward for biotech companies, providing a scalable, secure, and cost-effective solution for building and managing research environments in the cloud. The panelists emphasized the importance of adopting the right technology early in a company’s lifecycle to avoid costly technical debt and ensure a smooth path to commercialization.
As the biotech industry continues to evolve, the Biotech Blueprint offers a powerful tool for companies looking to accelerate their research, streamline operations, and ultimately bring their products to market faster. With the support of AWS and partners like PTP, biotech companies can focus on what they do best: advancing science and improving lives.
Enhance your biotech research with our AWS consulting services. Visit our AWS for Life Sciences page for more information.