Benchling’s 2024 year in review

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What a difference a year can make! 

The year 2024 reminded us just how dynamic the biotech and biopharma industry can be. We saw the obesity market radically transformed by the GLP-1 class in a very short time, going from under $1B market a few years ago to over $24B and growing1. AI stormed into the industry with new technology finding its way into almost every part of the biopharma lifecycle. In 2024, 164 investigational drugs were associated with AI according to a JAMA study, a dramatic increase from an estimated 19 drugs the year before2,3. We saw an explosion of new therapeutic modalities enter and mature in the R&D landscape, capped by FDA approval of the world’s first CRISPR gene-editing medicine to treat a genetic disease. Even in the face of uncertainty (think: interest rates, election cycles, health policy and regulation changes), the industry took a massive step forward in 2024. 

Benchling’s mission is to unlock the power of biotechnology. This year, we delivered hundreds of new capabilities to our customers to help keep their innovation engines thriving, from a new Analysis tool to automate data insights, to a series of AI-powered productivity tools that automate tasks for scientists, to specialized capabilities for scientists working across discovery, in vivo, and development functions. We were very excited to acquire PipeBio and welcome their team to Benchling. Their platform expands our capabilities in biologics, and allows us to more comprehensively support teams working in antibody drug discovery and design. 

The energy was palpable throughout the year as we worked side-by-side with our customers to support their mission-critical R&D. We welcomed 240 new customers to Benchling, and had the chance to hear from industry leaders at our largest-ever Benchtalk events in Boston, London, and San Francisco. Our Benchling Community grew to thousands of members and was the source of many of the feature requests that our product teams delivered on.

Here are some of the biggest innovations we launched in 2024:

Benchling Analysis

This year, we introduced Benchling Analysis, a no-code solution for data transformations and charting. It allows researchers to clean, reshape, and visualize complex datasets directly in Benchling, eliminating the need for third-party tools or custom scripts. With intuitive drag-and-drop tools and reusable workflows, we’re empowering teams to conduct and reproduce analyses faster. Key capabilities include:

  • Ingest data from multiple sources: Analysis allows you to create no-code datasets from multiple sources. You can analyze any structured data from a notebook entry, ingested via a run, from an existing SQL dashboard, or even upload your own CSVs.

  • Apply data transformations: Transform data into analysis-ready formats in minutes with native tools. For example, you can add a column that applies acceptance criteria using an IF statement for a plate heat map of live cell counts.

  • Visualize data and explore trends: Visualize your data as a bar, heat map, line, pie, or scatter chart with a few clicks. Quickly flag trends in your data, like comparing the mean titer between two fermentation samples.

  • Track and reproduce your analysis: Retrace your steps for any analysis without losing track of data sources or how you got to your conclusion. Benchling generates an intuitive flowchart view of the transformation and visualization steps you’ve taken. You can copy an analysis and replace it with new assay data from future experimental runs.

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Learn more about Benchling Analysis.

Benchling Intelligence

Building on Benchling’s foundation of structured R&D data, we introduced new AI-powered tools that offer predictive insights and workflow optimizations to help teams make faster, smarter decisions. Importantly, these have all been delivered while keeping paramount the security & privacy of our customers’ data. Benchling Intelligence, available to all customers to enable, now includes these new capabilities:  

  • Notebook check: Use AI to review entries for consistency and accuracy, flagging issues like missing sections and errors. You can customize automated checks to match your team’s standards, using plain language prompts. 

  • Insights SQL assistant: Quickly create dashboards from your Benchling data using an AI-powered assistant that understands the structure of your Benchling data warehouse. Generate new SQL queries and modify existing ones using natural language prompts to describe which data to access. 

  • Guided search: Find structured data faster by simply using natural language prompts to indicate what you are looking for, and let AI automatically apply filters to your search query. You can see how criteria were used and adjust results as needed, reducing time spent searching.

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Learn more about Benchling Intelligence.

Benchling Bioresearch

In our flagship solution for research teams, we continue to introduce ways to model advanced science and drive experimental productivity. New capabilities include:

  • Plate maps: Visually model and annotate plates in Benchling, streamlining workflows and ensuring data accuracy. Design wells, fill plates with multiple entities, and capture metadata for analysis. 

  • Molecular design: We’ve expanded molecular design to include oligonucleotide conjugates, enabling precise modeling and management of complex molecules.

  • Template publishing: Create reusable templates that promote consistent data capture using a full suite of publishing and audit controls. (Currently in Limited Availability. Please contact support@benchling.com or your Benchling CSM to gain access.)

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Learn more about Benchling Bioresearch.

Benchling In Vivo

Benchling In Vivo provides a dedicated solution for managing preclinical animal studies. This year we delivered a range of new capabilities to enhance task management, data capture, and integrations, including:

  • Task management: Connect in vivo tasks to study execution to keep work moving without missing a beat. Create task types for measurement, sample, observation, and dosing, and filter calendar view by task status.

  • Bulk dosing: Record studies faster and reduce errors with bulk animal dosing and a new study preset builder for admins.

  • Disease-induction dosing: Incorporate disease-induction workflows into in vivo studies to increase data fidelity and visibility. 

  • tick@lab integration: Seamlessly add animals to a study with our new tick@lab integration.

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Learn more about Benchling In Vivo.

Benchling Bioprocess

This year we launched Benchling Bioprocess, a new solution for process development teams. Built entirely on the Benchling R&D Cloud, this product extends Benchling with support for early and late development across the entire experimental lifecycle. Importantly, this solution captures highly structured process data ready for AI and advanced analysis. Key capabilities include:

  • Recipe design: Easily create recipes with a drag-and-drop visual designer to sequence unit operations, connect inputs/outputs, and define parameters.

  • Study planning: Flexibly design experiments to develop the design space with variations across process parameters and materials.

  • Batch execution: Quickly move your recipe designs and experiments into guided batch execution, with instructions dynamically populated from the recipe definition.

  • Analysis: Automatically align process data with parameters and move into templated analysis workflows.

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 Learn more about Benchling Bioprocess.

Benchling platform

The Benchling R&D Cloud is powered by a cloud-native platform built for scale. We continue to deliver new ways to help our customers build their R&D workflows with enhanced security, performance, and extensibility. New additions to our platform this year include:

  • App Canvas: If you can dream it, you can build it in Benchling — thanks to the App Canvas. This year we introduced a flexible, no-code interface where you can integrate data, workflows, and apps tailored to your needs. You can also combine your apps with any API action, so you can automate tasks like validating inputs, cleaning data, or generating reports, all within Benchling. Learn more about the App Canvas.

  • Shareable Apps: You can now create, manage, and update a single app definition globally with Shareable Apps in Benchling. This allows you to easily share your app via a single install link, simplifying the installation process for tenant admins. The new framework also streamlines app versioning and distribution, making it easier to build and share apps with other customers; for example, the Clustermarket integration allows teams to book and schedule equipment directly from Benchling. Learn more about Shareable Apps.

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Looking ahead to a bright and prosperous 2025

There’s much to look forward to as we head into 2025. Just as the obesity market radically transformed in 2024, other treatment areas will undoubtedly bring new opportunities to address unmet medical needs. The introduction of AI to biotech is far from over and seems poised to accelerate throughout the year. We can’t wait to see what innovative breakthroughs our customers deliver this year in the form of new discoveries, approvals, and impact. 

We value your input and collaboration as we deliver on our 2025 roadmap and product vision. Please reach out at our industry events, join us at Benchtalk, consider joining (or leading?) a local user group, and hop on to our online Community to get tips and offer product input.

Cheers to an amazing year ahead, and thanks for everything you do to create breakthrough treatments and products that improve the world around us!

References:

  1. IQVIA Blog, 2024: The obesity market’s inflection point?

  2. Louise Druedahl et al. JAMA Network. Use of Artificial Intelligence in Drug Development. May 31, 2024. 

  3. IQVIA Institute. Global Trends in R&D 2023. Feb 2023.

  4. FDA Approves First Gene Therapies to Treat Patients with Sickle Cell Disease

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