PDS Life Sciences
Coupling Science with Software to Improve R&D Productivity

Founded in Switzerland, PDS develops software and solutions for life science research and complex data analysis. Its intuitive laboratory information management software (LIMS) makes it simpler and faster for scientists to conduct toxicology, pathology and safety assessment research of new drugs and medical devices. Led by CEO Sayed Badrawi, PDS focuses on solutions spanning discovery, preclinical and clinical research and finally, regulatory submission.

Designed by scientists for scientists, PDS software provides LIMS solutions that rapidly capture, organize and analyze data and provide complete reports in record time. Using workflowoptimized user interfaces, the software minimizes the time and effort required—from implementing an animal study to generating a final report with actionable conclusions. Also, because products are GLP-compliant, they help reduce the regulatory compliance burden. PDS also provides tools that simplify the process of converting data into FDA-compliant formats for regulatory filings used in the Investigative New Drug application. PDS software easily integrates with other in-house and third-party systems and accommodates studies of all dimensions and complexity.

Designed to work like scientists think, key products include AscentosTM and TranSENDTM. Ascentos is a new, integrated preclinical research software suite that includes pathology, toxicology and reproductive toxicology modules that minimize the effort of data entry. The software has the flexibility and scalability to meet any need and matches the workflow of reclinical labs; in fact, the company actually guarantees ustomers can validate their PDS system within eight weeks. TranSEND, the new regulatory submission management solution, enables researchers to quickly obtain preclinical research data from any source or LIMS and translate the data into FDA-ready submission files using sophisticated algorithms that minimize human manipulation. “It’s more than a necessary piece of software; it’s an agnostic, easy-to-use tool that accelerates SEND translation,” said Badrawi.

The frontrunner in unlocking new paradigms in life science information management, PDS was the first to design an innovative data visualization structure for complex anatomic pathology data, the first to introduce Software as a Service (SaaS) for preclinical LIMS, the only company to implement a GLPcertified software hosting center and the first to utilize application programming interfaces (APIs) to speed and untangle communication with other information systems and lab instrumentation.

We are a science-based company that produces insightful software tools for research challenges, not a software company that just responds to IT-driven functional specifications

“PDS is a science-driven company using information technology to solve scientific problems. Our competitors are information technology companies trying to fit scientific problems to their pre-existing generic methodologies and technology platforms,” said Badrawi.

Driven by the growing importance of translational science, the company offers innovative bioinformatics services in partnership with Quinten of France. Using Quinten’sQ-FinderTM technology, PDS and Quinten offer a “Naïve Discovery” approach that provides unparalleled insight from complex datasets. Customer acceptance of PDS products is impressive. “Our clientele reflects the greater composition of the preclinical research community—from eight of the top10 pharma companies to the smallest biotech startups, and from contract research organizations to large chemical companies to academic research centers, our software is trusted everywhere. We have customers in the U.S., Europe, Asia and South America,” said Badrawi. PDS’ most recent success story involved solving the new FDA-mandated data submission requirements for a top 10 pharma client in record time.

“Our future is in life science research in general and preclinical research trends specifically. Products like Ascentos and TranSEND will remain the near-term foundation of our business, but the preclinical research space has many growth opportunities driven by the need to improve the success rates of clinical-phase drug development,” said Badrawi. PDS is working on new products that will be goalposts of innovation and improve the value and productivity of preclinical research.