Lab equipment scheduling platform supporting pharma and life sciences R&D organisations' AI journey amidst industry upheaval
Clustermarket, the lab equipment scheduling platform, has today announced it is rebranding to Calira and welcoming non-executive director and investor Edmund Wilson, co-founder and former CEO of Titian Software (now Cenevo), to capitalise on increasing enterprise demand for optimising lab operations.
The company's software has been popular with academic institutions and SMBs for several years, but has seen a recent upsurge in interest from enterprise research and development organisations-such as Merck (MSD), Moderna, Eli Lilly, Takeda and Lonza-as pharma and life sciences companies navigate market turmoil. This follows wider industry data that shows global biopharma lay-offs rose 63% in 2024 compared to 2022.
This disruption is forcing businesses to look at return on investment in R&D, and Calira says this will put increased pressure on LabOps teams to justify existing CapEx investments and provide the data needed to support tighter procurement rules. However, with McKinsey estimating that average asset utilisation in pharma stands at 35%, it is clear that this is easier said than done.
Demand for R&D ROI increases
Calira's equipment scheduling platform helps teams reduce booking conflicts, enable usage tracking, gather accurate data to inform CapEx investments, and cut downtime. The platform incorporates AI to automate booking multiple pieces of equipment, working out the best schedules to suit different requirements.
Johannes Solzbach, CEO and co-founder, Calira, said: "Lab operations are the critical foundation supporting R&D; without them, expensive assets and lab space are underused, equipment can become misused and damaged, maintenance is less effective, and investments are not maximised. In an environment where every decision is under increased scrutiny, effective, AI-driven lab operations will have a major impact."
Leading Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO) Lonza, turned to Calira to help manage equipment bookings at its Cambridge lab. In doing so, the company's lab manager, Bishoy Habib, now has the data needed to "justify new equipment or flag things to get rid of."
Accelerating momentum
Leading investment firm 24Haymarket and other existing investors are also increasing their backing for the business, underlining investor confidence in Calira and its direction. Alan Jamieson, investor director at 24Haymarket and Calira Chairman, said: "Calira is at an exciting point in its growth trajectory, and having worked with the team for a number of years, we could see that it is well placed as a company to capitalise on current market opportunities. With our additional backing, we are looking forward to continuing our support of Johannes and the team."
Solzbach said: "We're entering an exciting phase with a rebrand that reflects our role as an enabler of effective LabOps for commercial R&D organisations that are embarking on their AI journeys. Edmund's unique skillset and knowledge of building software businesses in the lab operations and life sciences industry will be critical in helping us navigate the complex requirements of our enterprise pharmaceutical and biotech customers."
Wilson said: "I am delighted to be joining a company that I believe can help R&D LabOps teams improve significantly, and I look forward to helping to grow Calira's role as a critical partner in life science research. Johannes and the team have all the ingredients to keep Calira growing: they have deep sector expertise, a customer-first mindset and a hunger to continuously evolve. I look forward to working with them and sharing my experience."
The Calira team will also be attending Future Labs Live USA 2025 from 15th to 16th October in Philadelphia, PA.
Notes to editors
About Calira
Calira enables effective, optimised lab operations, specifically on equipment booking, clearer asset visibility and asset utilisation tracking. Its customers include Merck, Moderna, Eli Lilly, Takeda and Lonza. For more information, visit calira.co.
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