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Case study

Labguru protects Cerevance's intellectual property and streamlines compliance

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Cerevance is a growing neuroscience-focused biotech company dedicated to identifying, validating and pharmacologically modulating novel targets from human brain tissue for the development of new neurodegenerative disease therapies.

Most research in this field uses animal models of brain disease, which are very different from human models of disease; stem cells, which lack the effects of age and connectivity of the human brain; or single cell RNA-sequencing techniques, which generally fail to identify lower-expressed genes. By working on diseased human brains, Cerevance generates accurate insights into the pathology of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and ALS, facilitating the discovery of targets for new treatments.

The core of Cerevance’s research is its platform, Nuclear Enriched Transcript Sort sequencing (NETSseq) technology, which is a method for isolating nuclei in a cell type-specific manner from human brains. Using NETSseq, Cerevance profiles specific brain cell types to an unprecedented level. By comparing different cell populations across brain regions and between control and diseased brains, Cerevance gains a deep understanding of the pathways involved in human brain diseases. This has enabled the generation of groundbreaking human CNS expression data sets, from which novel targets are being identified for innovative drug discovery programs.

We interviewed Dino Ossola, Senior Group Leader at Cerevance.

Choosing Labguru

Cerevance had previously relied on paper lab notebooks and a hard drive backup, but Dino Ossola was tasked with selecting an Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) system for the company. For Dino, who had used the Labguru ELN in previous roles, this was a no-brainer. He chose Labguru because he knew it to be a reliable system with an intuitive interface - perfect for easy integration and use. Dino was also excited about the Labguru ELN’s customizable nature, which enables a variety of experiments and complex projects, and about the ease with which it can be used by multiple users collaboratively.

Effortless scheduling and management

Labguru helps Dino to track his team’s ongoing experiments, allowing him to stay on top of Cerevance’s various projects and assign tasks easily. The Labguru equipment scheduling system enables Cerevance’s scientists to use their equipment in the most efficient manner, and the ability to view ongoing experiments and forward them to colleagues has streamlined the company’s sign-off procedure, which is crucial for both the audit trail and IP purposes. 

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Increased efficiency

While Cerevance was originally interested in the Labguru ELN, Dino understands the importance of the lab information system modules. He has begun working with Labguru’s support team to customize the sample tracking system as well as the inventory and storage modules, and sees much potential for his company’s development.

With Labguru, we save 75% of the time previously required to manage and update our lab notebooks.

Research under COVID-19 restrictions

When COVID-19 restrictions forced Cerevance’s scientists to work in shifts, the Labguru equipment scheduling system enabled them to maximize the use of their equipment. Labguru also allows Dino’s team to stay productive while working from home because all their information is available online, allowing them to schedule, monitor, and sign off on experiments remotely.

ROI from Labguru

As Dino happily reports, Labguru saves his team a great deal of time that was previously wasted on copying and pasting and sticking things on paper. Using Labguru saves Cerevance 75% of the time previously required to manage and update lab notebooks. In fact, Dino estimates that his team members used to spend at least an hour every week updating their lab notebooks, but with Labguru, this has been reduced to approximately 15 minutes.

Key Results

75%

of the time time spent managing and updating lab notebooks saved

Streamlined creation of an audit trail and IP protection