How Charles River Laboratories benefits from LabLogic’s LIMS and instrument control
03/04/2025
The LabLogic team onsite at Charles Rivers’ Edinburgh facility with Principal CSV Specialist Rory Grundison (far right).
At a glance
> The CRO has recently migrated to the latest version of Debra to manage data collected by Laura integrated with Hidex instrumentation at its Edinburgh facility.
> The software is being used to manage the lifecycles of a range of radiolabelled studies including ADME, environmental fate, in vitro dermal, and plant metabolism.
> In the first part of this case study, Principal CSV Specialist Rory Grundison explains how LabLogic’s software has provided user control and data integrity to adhere with regulatory compliance.
Standardising an approach to radiolabelled studies
Charles River Laboratories’ Edinburgh facility has been using LabLogic’s Debra Laboratory Information Management System for many years to manage the lifecycles of a range of radiolabelled studies including ADME, environmental fate, in vitro dermal, and plant metabolism. Historically, computer systems were managed independently by departments, but as the facility has grown, it was found to be an increasingly unsustainable way of working, presenting a conflict of interest to scientists who had to manage both their own studies and the computer systems they were using – a dual user risk.
This has led to a CSV (Computer System Validation) team, now centrally managing systems used on-site, providing direct support to users. Following a recent update to Debra 6 and the installation of Hidex liquid scintillation counters controlled by Laura for data collection and analysis, we spoke to Principal CSV Specialist Rory Grundison to find out how the investment in software and hardware is changing how Charles River works.
Increased productivity through direct data capture
Rory began by outlining the challenges the different research groups at Charles River faced, saying, “Historically, a research group performing liquid scintillation counting would have had to manually input batches of data from a printout into a spreadsheet, which would then have to be checked line by line. That level of human input is laborious and prone to error. LabLogic’s software has digitised how we’re working to speed everything up. Data is automatically collected by Laura and populated in Debra, helping us to deliver our end goals quicker. People are more engaged when they’re not being bored by these tedious, monotonous tasks. The savings in time and effort represent a significant jump in our productivity.”
A tailored software solution
“The support from LabLogic during the migration from version 5 to 6 has been excellent. The development team are very responsive, they always drill down into the detail of any problems a user may have. [Technical Director] Pete [Clapham] and [Analyst Developer] Chris [Woolley] have been very good at working through things with us.
“We’re the largest CRO to implement Debra on this scale in terms of the number of users and size of the databases used, so it would be fair to describe it as pioneering, which has had its challenges as well as benefits. Although Debra is an off-the-shelf product, the Debra link with Laura and the integration of the Hidex 600 SLs was in its early stages of release. There has been a great collaborative effort between LabLogic and CRL Edinburgh in developing the system and the harmonisation of Debra, Laura, and the Hidex 600 SL to achieve the common goal of a robust scientific system with data integrity at the forefront of its operation. LabLogic has also been flexible and tailored some aspects to suit our specific needs. That’s been a huge benefit to us and much better than trying to implement a system that wouldn’t give us exactly what we needed. It’s really placed both companies in an excellent commercial position.”
Helping maintain critical regulatory compliance
Speaking on the importance of regulatory compliance, Rory said, “We must be compliant to continue operating. If we’re found not to be compliant, we would have to suspend the majority of our work. Not only does that have significant implications as a business, but its critical to client trust. If we can’t comply or manage data as we should, clients will go elsewhere.
“Historically, we’ve had to introduce extra procedural controls to stay ahead of stricter guidance, which comes with a lot of extra paperwork. It really slows down processes and makes things harder, so being able to introduce an integrated digital system that allows us to manage whole studies is fantastic. The user control and data integrity that LabLogic’s software provides is critical to helping us maintain that regulatory compliance.”
Find out more
In the upcoming second part of the case study, we’ll see how Debra and Laura integrate with Hidex liquid scintillation counters and oxidizers to provide GLP compliance in radiolabelled studies. You can learn more about Debra and Laura by clicking the button below to speak to a product specialist directly to request a guided demonstration.