With more people becoming regular consumers of cannabis-derived products, some business analysts estimate that the United States cannabis industry could exceed $100 billion in only four years. 

Ensuring the quality and safety of cannabis products is a top priority for cultivators, manufacturers, and distributors to build consumer trust and achieve regulatory compliance. A growing number of US states have enacted new regulations that require comprehensive testing of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) products by state-accredited laboratories.

Laboratory automation for quality control (QC) teams helps elevate performance by saving time and effort. The laboratory enjoys better efficiency, with less re-testing, less repeated work, and faster reviews of processes. With more efficiency, more consistency—intrinsic to automation—and less human effort required for repetitive processes, there is improved accuracy and quality to be noted in laboratory results.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are invaluable tools that measure a company’s effectiveness. Each KPI “measures the goals of the business against the actual, quantifiable data over a specified period.” Laboratory KPIs help your laboratory stay accountable toward the lab’s goals. KPIs should be specifically set and customized to each laboratory. For example, the lab manager may want to evaluate the number of completed tests, as well as see those still under processing. These indicators serve as an index of how well the lab is running at any time, based on its set standards.

Although all laboratories must comply with industry standards in order to produce valid results, the pharmaceutical laboratory’s quality control (QC) team must adhere to some of the most stringent standards. This team is responsible for ensuring the quality and purity of pharmaceutical ingredients and products, where there is no room for error.

We spend a lot of time focusing on SOPs and setting up laboratory equipment and software in order to facilitate maximum compliance. Given the levels of technical details and specific procedures that are essential to proper lab functioning, it makes sense to build systems to effectively share this information and reinforce best practices.

But the culture in which a laboratory operates is critical as well, because it can drive how receptive the team is to adherence. Effective laboratory management relies on a few simple principles and tools that work to tip the scales into optimal lab function.

The traditional role of a compounding pharmacy is to make specific drugs prescribed by medical doctors to meet the needs of an individual patient.

Prescription compounding has seen a resurgence in recent years because of the many benefits offering formulas tailored to patient needs. Many patients have found mass-produced drugs difficult to stomach, or are sensitive or allergic to dyes and preservatives in commercially produced medications. Although this is great for patient care, regulatory scrutiny is increasing to ensure the safety of these same patients.

Scientific industries are challenged to keep pace with global demands for safe and effective pharmaceuticals, chemicals, medical devices and other scientific advances.

Contract research organizations (CROs) have become progressively more common in meeting laboratory outsourcing needs. In fact, they are now critical collaborators in assuring safety and effectiveness in a variety of scientific developments and innovations.

Integrating technology into your laboratory is never a one-person decision. Key stakeholders have different perspectives in terms of what they need from technology depending on their individual needs. Even within a small laboratory, there are many people impacted by the implementation of a laboratory management system (LIMS).

In the next five years, the lab information management system (LIMS) market is projected to reach approximately $2.22 billion. One of the most consistent sectors of growth is the cloud-based LIMS segment, which continues to grow each year.

Implementing a LIMS is a critical way in helping laboratory facilities track samples from receipt through storage and usage. A LIMS can save lab staff time by automatically documenting more features about each sample than an individual could and provides resources for automating sample testing and batch control. It addresses human error by helping to avoid penalties with a trail of data that can withstand auditing to the most rigorous of industry standards.

Effective and successful lab managers are first and foremost dedicated to the scientific endeavors of their chosen industry. The prospect of providing innovative and well-researched products and services to the global community is undoubtedly gratifying and honorable.

In today’s highly competitive scientific market, it is essential that all deliverables be timely, within regulatory compliance, and within budget. To merge the necessities of scientific rigor, health and safety, and global competition, the choice of your laboratory information management system (LIMS) is critical.

There are a growing number of LIMS solutions available to laboratories. Selecting the best choice for a laboratory requires a careful evaluation of the potential solutions. Perhaps the most important variable in this process involves ensuring that the LIMS meets the critical needs of the lab, which in turn requires a measure of awareness on the part of laboratory management.

WILMINGTON, Del.-- LabWare, Inc., recognized worldwide as the leader in enterprise laboratory automation software, today announced the production release of LabWare 8.

Labs using manual or older systems might be putting their workflows and compliance costs under undue stress. Consider if your current system isn’t saving you money and time -- or perhaps, actually increasing your expenses. If it is costing you money and time, this presents an opportunity to find an updated lab management system software that can streamline processes and track data for increased efficiencies.

Before considering if it’s time to update your systems, here’s what you need to know to conduct a needs analysis of your current workflow and systems.

Regulators are ever increasing scrutiny into labs and testing environments, including pharmaceutical development, compounding pharmacies, and others, to enforce compliance with industry standards. Audit findings of noncompliance may result in consequences as severe as loss of accreditation or even termination. Implementing LIMS software can help resolve or even get ahead of noncompliance by automating laboratory processes and documentation.

Dealing with a global pandemic such as COVID-19 has forced laboratories to evaluate how to safely and efficiently conduct business. Whether your laboratory is faced with a widespread global event, an on-site emergency that shuts down your physical location, or you simply want to modernize your business, implementing a remote work plan is a must-have for your lab!

Failing a laboratory audit means that internal systems for training and compliance need improvement, and also likely means that the lab may see more intense scrutiny for the foreseeable future. 

Since an effective plan for improvement and its implementation must be assembled as quickly as possible while also maintaining the usual laboratory output, any prescribed changes must be rapidly mapped, automated, validated, and implemented. LIMS software can help resolve this need by providing already proven and validated laboratory workflows.

The way your lab is organized can make a dramatic difference in the cost-savings and efficiency that you are able to achieve, and never is that more important than in today's competitive environment.

There are hundreds or even thousands of moving parts and data points in a lab environment, making it vital to ensure you have the right tools in place to identify and place your resources. Gaining full visibility of  your workflow has never been more important, particularly as compliance requirements evolve and require greater control and transparency throughout your lab.

It's important to understand the advantages of a LIMS implementation and how it elevates the performance and efficiency of a laboratory. By automating adherence to best practices as well as introducing controlled sample and data management, laboratories can free up time and resources while also improving quality controls and laboratory performance measurement.

A Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is an application built around a centralized database of samples and any meta data, results, workflows, and instruments associated with them. This not only allows a laboratory to remain organized, but also facilitates efficiency, transparency and compliance.

With LabWare SaaS LIMS now available, we’re helping LIMS buyers determine if the rapid deployment and rich functionality of LabWare SaaS LIMS will be sufficient or if the customizability of classic LabWare LIMS will be required to meet quality assurance and quality control testing needs.