SPT Labtech’s expert teams create state-of-the-art solutions that scientists and researchers can trust 

SPT Labtech strives to inspire its customers’ ingenuity by designing and building world-leading lab automation solutions that transform the way scientists work to make a real difference to human health. 

“The biotech industry has been going through a challenging period recently. The pandemic stoked the overall market and drove significant investment, and there’s inevitably been a subsequent period of reduced investment, which has meant a relatively tough 12 months for the industry. That said, we are starting to see recovery and the US is certainly picking up significantly. Europe and China are also starting to stabilize and we’re in a position now to get back on to a growth footing and really take the business into the future. It’s an exciting time for the company going forward,” Rob Walton, CEO, begins. 

Enabling precision medicine 

“We provide lab automation equipment to scientists working across the life sciences, including pharmaceutical and biotech organizations, as well as academic and research institutions, and clinical laboratories. We support a wide range of drug discovery activities, offering solutions that automate key stages of involved scientific workflows to deliver robust outcomes, whilst at the same time minimizing both precious samples and costly reagents – key considerations when you’re trying to identify proteins that will be integral to a groundbreaking drug, for example. Our instruments are extremely versatile and can work to very low volumes (down to the nanoliter range) and deliver impressive throughputs – key things that researchers today require to meet their goals. 

“A major part of what we do is in the exciting field of genomics, where we see personalized outcomes becoming increasingly possible. In the last 20 years, the ability to sequence the whole human genome has become much more advanced. Back in 2003, the human genome was sequenced for the first time, through an international collaborative effort that took almost 20 years to achieve. Now, that can be done in a matter of hours through modern sequencing equipment, and our core solutions that support the preparation step of the next generation sequencing (NGS) workflow. Taking a long-term view, the outcomes from this kind of work will be integral to enabling precision medicine. Ultimately, if we understand a human’s DNA profile much better, then we can understand which fragments of DNA define an individual’s predisposition to cancer for example, or their ability to react better to certain types of treatment,” he explains. 

Groundbreaking technology 

SPT Labtech’s latest innovative offering, firefly®, is an all-in-one liquid handling solution that can sit within the NGS workflow. The instrument brings together multiple proven technologies within a single compact design for more efficient library and sample preparation, that maximizes output. 

Rob explains: “It is extremely well placed to not only help accelerate genomic research, but also key drug discovery workflows and novel solutions to support diagnostic testing. 

“Scientists can create more efficient and streamlined workflows by automating repetitive and menial liquid handling tasks. With its versatility and intuitive software, firefly® enables teams to work at a higher throughput, reduce turnaround times and get results faster. 

“In addition to our liquid handling range, we also have our Quantifoil grids that allow scientists using cryo electron microscopy (Cryo-EM) to explore novel protein structures. We are extremely excited to be launching our next generation ‘HexAuFoil’ product which offers improved stability and faster data collection, to provide an ideal solution for those looking to maximize output for structure-based drug discovery and academic research. 

“It’s an amazing technology that is extremely complex, but our team has perfected it and is now bringing that new, game changing product to the market. I’m a mechanical engineer by background,” Rob continues. “I trained at Ford Motor Company and then spent five years with Unilever, where I worked as a plant manager and developed operational skills. I went on to do an MBA in France at INSEAD, and then worked at Bain & Company, which provided a comprehensive grounding in strategy, commercial development, and mergers and acquisitions. I then joined GE Healthcare, one of the biggest global medical device companies in the world and spent ten years working as a global business unit leader, driving product development, engineering and manufacturing. I moved to Singapore to lead our Asia Pacific commercial business, before returning to the UK to lead the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. This collective experience has been a great foundation for my current role as CEO of SPT Labtech. I have the honor of working with a fantastic group of people at the leading edge of groundbreaking technology. The biosciences space is still in its infancy and will continue to grow strongly over the coming years. I am looking forward to helping the business grow into its next phase of development. 

Supporting life sciences 

“Overall, SPT Labtech boasts a tremendous level of experience and expertise. Our team of exceptionally skilled scientists, engineers and business innovators has one overarching mission: to work together to accelerate life science research. Through innovative solutions and state-of-the-art tools, we are striving to make a real difference to human health. Collaboration is certainly at the heart of how SPT Labtech works. 

“The culture is one of customer centricity and collaboration. There’s a deep understanding of customer needs and a commitment and passion for supporting and helping them to be more successful. Many of our team come from research and academic backgrounds and bring empathy and understanding to what customers are trying to do. By continuing to actively engage with the scientific community, we ensure that we are always innovating to solve real-world laboratory challenges. I think that’s a huge and inspiring aspect of our culture that we want to build on over the coming years. 

“Looking to the future, we will aim to continue building out our commercial capabilities around the world, as well as incorporating lean manufacturing processes into our operations globally to take the business to the next level of manufacturing excellence. As we invest in sales resources, we expect volumes to grow and so we want to ensure that our supply chain and manufacturing operations can keep pace in the most effective way,” he concludes. “We are extremely well positioned to support our customers, and I anticipate us continuing to grow as a leading player in our space.”  

www.sptlabtech.com