CASE STUDY
Boston-based biotech
Creation of knowledge base that reduced chances of duplicating effort to become an integral part of informatics ecosystem
The challenge
In common with many growing biotech companies, a Boston-based biotech augments its in-house chemistry team with tens of synthetic chemists from multiple CRO partners. While this enables the company to significantly increase its capacity, it also brings the challenge of coordinating work between multiple organizations around the globe.
We were relying on emails to exchange information, which ended up either in PDFs buried in a file share or in people’s memory. It was difficult to keep track of who was making what, or to find out if something had been done before, which meant that people at different locations were working on the same target and some compounds were re-proposed unnecessarily. There was also the risk of timelines sliding because an important compound went under the radar and wasn’t worked on in a timely manner.
The solution
Aware that current methods of working might be improved by using an electronic tool to track and manage synthesis, the team looked for a solution. It turned out that they were not alone as a colleague from another company suggested they look at chemTraX (now Torx Make).
The initial demo was well received, so the next step was to conduct a hands-on evaluation of the system. Regular feedback throughout ensured that the configuration met the desired synthetic chemistry workflow and was ready to be rolled out to the wider chemistry team, both internally and to key people at its CRO partners.
The Results
chemTraX (now Torx Make) has enabled us to achieve a truly distributed drug discovery process. The visual status board provides clarity and ensures everyone is on the same page when it comes to priorities and knowing what needs to be made, by who and when. Our CRO partners update the status of their work directly in chemTraX and add comments if needed, which not only means we always have up-to-date information but also facilitates communication during weekly meetings and mitigates potential issues with language differences.
The information managed by chemTraX has provided us with a fantastic knowledge base that we can use to understand why a given compound was or wasn't made and reduces the chance of duplicating effort. chemTraX (now Torx Make) has become an integral part of our informatics ecosystem and is fundamental to the way our chemists work.
Director of Informatics, Boston-based biotech