Boehringer Ingelheim has completed a pilot project to assess whether it is best served by its current electronic laboratory notebook (ELN) technology. The process led to Boehringer deciding to phase out use of multiple in-house systems and replace them with IDBS' E‑WorkBook Suite.
R&D staffers in the U.S. are already using the suite, which consists of an ELN and other tools. The next step is to get German R&D teams using the system over the next few years. Once the rollout is complete, 2,400 R&D workers across Boehringer will use the same platform. By replacing multiple, in-house systems with IDBS' platform, Boehringer hopes to eliminate data silos.
"We were looking for an ELN that … enables us to derive value from our data across all of our domains including research, development and animal health," Thomas Reith, head of IT R&D and medicine at Boehringer, said in a statement. Reith also said the ability of the system to serve an R&D model that relies, in part, on collaborators for innovation factored into Boehringer's decision to work with IDBS.
Boehringer will integrate IDBS' tools with its other IT platforms, such as its laboratory information management system and data management infrastructure. The move should mean that data is captured and stored in a searchable, retrievable format.
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