With laboratory automation becoming easier to access and more commonplace in pharmaceutical companies as well as academic groups, the need for quick and robust sample analysis has never been higher. Concurrently, as scientific fields become more and more interdisciplinary, the breadth of equipment and expertise must also increase to meet the demand. This means investigators and group leaders face difficult decisions: Should they invest in expensive equipment, that requires resources and expertise which they may not possess, or should they outsource this part of their research?
Benefits to outsourcing sample analysis
We understand that for both academic groups and growing businesses, the cost of buying NGS systems can run into millions of dollars. Worse still, the service contracts for such systems can cost anywhere from $100,000-200,000 per year. This can put smaller groups/businesses in a difficult position since a branch of their research could be underpinned by NGS studies they cannot afford for example. For this reason, more and more researchers turn to Sampled to carry out bespoke, customer-orientated analytical assays using the same instruments and systems the researchers cannot afford to purchase themselves. By working with Sampled, researchers save themselves from enormous costs and time since they can focus on the research they do best and still get the answers they seek. We work with clients to understand exactly what type of sample analysis they wish to conduct and generate customised reports that feedback the data in a manner that best suits the researcher.
However, this isn’t the only advantage to outsourcing sample analysis to Sampled. Some researchers simply lack the manpower to analyse the growing number of samples that are piling up in their labs. An example of this is how a number of groups representing the States of New Jersey and Minnesota, among others, approached Sampled during the pandemic in order to identify positive COVID biosamples through PCR and store these samples for future studies. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) awarded Sampled one of six contracts in the US to analyze COVID-positive samples by NGS to identify specific variant strains. The raw data from these studies was then uploaded to CDC’s database for further study. By outsourcing this sample analysis to Sampled the CDC saved precious time and resources in combating the virus and were able to learn about the emergence and spread of variant strains faster than if they had conducted the research internally.
A better way to validate research?
Outsourcing sample analysis also acts a third-party validation service which helps to confirm reproducibility of new methodologies or experimental results. As previously mentioned, Sampled utilizes cutting edge technologies from numerous companies including Illumina, PacBio, 10X genomics etc. This allows us to tailor-make any assays using specific pieces of equipment the researcher selects, giving them all the benefits of conducting cutting-edge research, without the overhead costs or in-house expertise.
Whether it be due to costs, lack of expertise, lack of manpower or simply to validate results acquired by another party, Sampled has the infrastructure, the equipment you desire and the customisation capability to take your research to the next level. If you wish to discuss your research needs with us, feel free to contact us here.
