Life sciences industry 'turning to IT solutions'

Organisations in the life sciences industry are beginning to increasingly explore the possibility of introducing more IT solutions into operations, new research has revealed.

According to Computing.co.uk, a report by Ovum noted that the sector will spend a combined $17 billion (£11 billion) across the globe over the course of this year.

However, pharmaceutical technology analyst Ruchi Mallya said this move is despite some reservations by experts.

"The failure of many IT applications in the past has left key decision-makers very wary - the industry is secretive and still reliant on paper-based, manual work flows," she added.

Ovum targeted a number of areas in which computers will contribute most significantly, with electronic data capture and information sharing tools - including laboratory information management - featuring prominently.

Earlier this month, a new mass spectrometry software was announced that could help lab workers to characterise lipids, with the platform able to standardise 23,000 species of the molecule.