laboratory informatics ➤
blinkered to a handful of LIMS products and niche soſtware offered by a similar handful of vendors. Core Informatics’ co- founders, Anthony Uzzo and Jim Gregory, both came out of the pharma industry with the recognition that many LIMS platforms are outdated and inflexible. Tey wanted to embrace the new technologies that were being made available, particularly through the cloud. Probably one of the pivotal decisions in
the foundation of Core Informatics was becoming an early client of Amazon Web Services, and the firm now has the unique distinction of being recognised as an Amazon Web Services’ APN Life Sciences Competency Partner. Offering the soſtware through the cloud means that clients can use as much or as little of the platform as they need, without the need for any major reconfiguration. It is accessible on any web-enabled platform, from smartphone to desktop. For customers with requirements preventing the use of the cloud, on-premises deployments are also available.
Securing new clients Having developed the initial iterations of the technology, Uzzo and Gregory effectively spent a number of years knocking on doors to build up a portfolio of installations that would demonstrate the utility of the Core
All Core products and applications are built to be compatible and run on Core Informatics’ Platform for Science
platform, particularly in the emerging areas of life science and clinical/molecular diagnostics. Tis meant that during the early years, new clients were secured largely by word of mouth. ‘One of the key points about the Core
technology that helped us to engage more clients, was that our platform is less about replacing existing LIMS technology, and more providing solutions that address the informatics bottlenecks in today’s life sciences arena,’ Cronin stressed. ‘Termo Fisher Scientific, for example, uses Core’s Platform for Science in its NGS environment. And the crop science giant, Syngenta, uses our platform for its global greenhouse nurseries.’
Funding to boost commercialisation Having been privately funded for the first six years of its operation, Core Informatics hired CEO, Josh Geballe, two years ago, and significantly built up its sales team, customer success team, and commercial infrastructure. ‘Josh brought in external funding that,
CLIENTS CAN USE AS MUCH OR AS LITTLE OF THE PLATFORM AS THEY NEED
The Platform for Science Marketplace offers a rapidly evolving catalogue of scientific applications designed to support the changing needs of modern laboratories
8 SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING WORLD
together with funding from the state of Connecticut, meant that we could more aggressively increase our commercialisation efforts globally, and extend our reach into relevant markets. It was the hard work of Uzzo and Gregory during the early years, however, which means that we can now go to new clients and use the experiences of our existing customers to demonstrate the power of the platform.’
With a number of multinational pharma
and agbiotech companies already in its client portfolio, Core Informatics has a global footprint, and is expanding its teams in key areas, including Europe and Asia.
Know your market Technology aside, Core Informatics’ in-depth knowledge of its market and of the informatics requirements of emerging science are its biggest assets, Cronin suggested. ‘Our people have a lot of experience in the LIMS space, so we understand the limitations of traditional LIMS packages, and also the requirements of our clients. Each of our customers has a dedicated customer success manager assigned to them, who will understand their industry and workflows, and will work closely with them.’ Core Informatics is enjoying a major
period of growth, and Cronin said it can now confidently answer one of the more common questions that a young informatics company will be faced with from a prospective client: ‘We like your technology and want to support innovation, but will you still be around in 4-5 years’ time?’ In the early days this was a hard question to answer, Cronin admitted, and a number of the companies that Core Informatics is signing deals with today were looking at the technology three or four years ago, but were not ready to commit to a platform that they were not convinced would still be supported a few years down the line. ‘Even though we are still a private
company, we can now put the figures confidently in front of a prospective client’s CFO. We will be announcing a number of major deals within the next few months, and in each case discussions about our critical mass will have been key.’ l
@scwmagazine l
www.scientific-computing.com
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