From Online Ordering to LAWS server-to-server integration, Eurofins BPT offers faster, more secure data delivery

Jeff Turner, Vice President, Information Technology, Eurofins BioPharma Product Testing and CDMO

Technology is essential to our business internally and as a service provider. IT capabilities expected by current and future clients exceed an expectation of electronic test results. So how does Eurofins BPT use IT technologies to remain a leader in testing services and continue building IT capabilities for superior client delivery?

Eurofins BPT released our new Online Ordering system in 2021 to provide an eCommerce Sample-based order process that would greatly improve the sample submission and registration process. Sample submission is a complex process for biopharma clients, and we took great effort to consider both high-speed entry needs while also supporting data complexity to gain value. Orders can be managed via our LabAccess portal, created in draft, then submitted. We included Packing slip and Order forms to standardize your ship process and reduce manual paperwork. Online order includes the ability to reorder sample submissions using a prior submission to speed entry of high repetitive sample testing. In addition, Online orders can upload excel files with complex sample data. If your LIMS has output we can map the attributes of your excel and permanently retain this mapping for your next order. All of these features save you time and increase quality of data received compared to manual processes. Adoption has been swift by many of our clients submitting samples for routine analysis.

In 2018, Eurofins BPT introduced the LabAccess Web Services, or LAWS for short. Web Services are used for computer-to-computer data exchange to allow fully automated integration with our client’s LIMS and Data Lakes. As a BioPharma service provider, LAWS is a leading edge technology offering and we remain unique among other providers to provide a validated service for this purpose. During the period of 2018-2020, BPT labs strategically offered LAWS to our larger clients as a pilot program and worked to improve implementation setup, training, and onboarding processes When introduced to the market, we were technology “evangelists”. We were educating clients about the benefits of Web services and server to server data integration. Eurofins was ahead of clients as an innovator but we saw other industry adoption and expected it was a matter of time. One key benefit is that LAWS offers clients immediate delivery of electronic data Released testing results along with associated Data packages. BioPharma clients were listening and adopting but the rate of adoption remained slower due to risk and regulatory attitudes.

The COVID Pandemic accelerated technology adoption forever. In 2020 the pandemic arrived and like other industries, it drove rapid change out of necessity. BioPharma clients and their own IT teams were urgent to use technology to work remotely, automate and speed delivery. LAWS was one key enabler. Eurofins BPT saw a significant opportunity to benefit a major COVID Vaccine producer, and partner, who was utilizing our services across four Eurofins BPT laboratories around the world. During 2021, over a four-month period, Eurofins BPT labs and our IT Solutions team in Lancaster, PA, worked to connect the client’s LIMS to LAWS. Via LAWS, the test results from our global Eurofins BPT sites were routed directly to the client’s internal LIMS systems. Our integration with the client cut turnaround time off the existing process even compared to LabAccess website delivery, while also improving quality as no manual transcription is required. Today LAWS has over 500 requests daily to deliver data from our servers to client’s systems.

LabAccess is our cornerstone client platform that drives our client experience as we scale and expand the global portfolio of sites and our service portfolio. We continue to invest in new web pages, deliverables, and enhanced security. We have added delivery date status and other tracking information to the site in the last year. Security is a critical aspect of our platforms and this year we introduced full Multi-Factor Authentication with the login process. We send an MFA challenge to clients based on their risk profile and use frequency to improve security. In addition, Eurofins is undergoing a move to data segregation by region as a technology strategy to limit risk. While many BioPharma Product Testing (BPT) sites had adopted LabAccess earlier, in 2022 the global adoption included a 200% increase in European site adoption and 115% increase in volume overall 2022 vs 2021. Our total LabAccess sessions in the last year have more than doubled to over 5000 unique visitors per month.

Our Eurofins IT Solutions strategy is to leverage our systems to deliver advances ahead of competitors and even if this has meant building ahead of the market vision. Our use of custom applications like LabAccess, LAWS and eLIMS-BPT has allowed faster responsiveness while offering a global unified delivery for all laboratories in the BPT network. We continue to look at new technology approaches to retain a leadership position for Eurofins.