Life Science and Technology Predictions for 2022

“The most successful methods to amplify clinical outcomes in drug discovery will combine AI, simulation, and traditional experimentation using 3D models and cell engineering techniques. Molecular Devices aims to leverage its expertise in Cell Line Development, Bioimaging, and innovation to empower its technology to perform drug discovery workflows with benefits not available today. A future lab will include intelligent, autonomous decision-making platforms powered by AI and stem cell engineering (CRISPR) integration with long-term 3D cell culture experiments that span over months with quality control checks.”

Daniel O’Connor
Vice President, Drug Discovery

Dwayne Carter, PhD
Field Applications Scientist

“Using fully adult, human, 3D, and microfluidic in vitro models that recapitulate in vivo organ function in a dish, we can overcome the translational issues faced in our current drug development process. This speeds up drug safety and efficacy assessments, which will ultimately result in drugs coming to market faster.”

“Although the current COVID-19 pandemic has been raging on for over 2 years now, there is only one FDA approved anti-viral drug for treatment against COVID-19. I can see fully human, 3D in vitro systems such as lymph node and lung organoids having a huge impact on the development of antibody treatments and safety and efficacy assessment of anti-viral drugs, respectively. 3D organs systems will play a key role in speeding up the drug discovery process for these much-needed therapeutics in 2022.”

“The life science industry in 2022 will have greater adoption of AI-based tools in many areas of research. AI tools will be more widely available and accessible to all scientists.”

Angeline Lim, PhD
Applications Scientist

YoungMee Yoon
Field Applications Scientist Supervisor, BioResearch, North America

“The development of precision medicine will continue to be one of the main areas of life science technology in 2022. High-throughput screening along with automation setup will receive more attention because it can enhance workflows to research biomarkers and develop precision medicine.”

“We will take a big step towards digital modeling of personalized medicine outcomes. The marriage between tech and biotech will intensify. This will enable life science to remain robust in 2022 and the upcoming years. These are some exciting times.”

Harjot Hans
Technical Sales Representative

Constantin Radu
Global Proposals Manager

“Automation has become the norm in many laboratories, from big pharma to academic labs. The technology and software driving automated workflows are easier to use, safer, reliable, and most importantly, cost-effective. I believe the next phase in automation that we will see from the early adopters is using predictive modeling from experimental data to develop on-the-fly experiments while utilizing robotic instruments and automation software to perform intelligent screening (IS).”

“Utilizing IS tools will allow researchers to validate their intricate hypotheses effectively. With these tools, researchers can use robotics to monitor cell growth and use cells at their optimal confluency for screening campaigns while also confirming their results, all with very little human interaction. I believe the future of lab automation is bright for using robotic platforms and IS tools to design complex experiments and allowing researchers to do what they do best, pushing the boundaries of science.”

Cathy Olsen, PhD
Sr. Applications Scientist

“The pandemic – and the scientific curiosity of research scientists around the globe – will continue to drive the need for more rapid and innovative ways to get answers to our questions about SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses. Researchers will need reliable instrumentation and an improved supply of lab consumables.”

“With all of the issues we've been facing over the past few years, there will be an increased and renewed focus on improving science, especially creating sustainable solutions to the supply chain issues we're currently (and will continue) to face. I think scientists will be looking for alternatives when the supply chain issues hit, and we, as an organization, need to be ready with multiple alternatives to meet customer needs quickly. This will lead to faster science and faster innovation than we've seen in years. Now is a great time to be in science because we can directly see the impact on our lives.”

Merrit Savener
Technical Account Manager, Biopharma