Accelerated R&D
Cost parity with conventional dairy by 2027–2028. Shorten R&D cycles.
Strategic Context
Understanding Better Dairy Goals
Better Dairy’s priorities in R&D and manufacturing span accelerating time-to-market, increasing screening throughput, and scaling from benchtop to pilot. The four pillars below capture these strategic ambitions.
Process Scalability
Scale from 5,000 L pilot to industrial volumes by 2030. Easy transition from benchtop to pilot plant.
Data Integrity
FDA GRAS and EFSA Novel Food compliance with full traceability. 21 CFR Part 11 ready out of the box.
Operational Excellence
Unified control platform and elimination of manual data entry. Reduce media and manual labour costs.
Identified Challenges
Identified Challenges
Key process bottlenecks and risks in Better Dairy’s operations — from manual sampling to hardware lock-in and data fragmentation.
1
Lab
Manual Sampling Risk
Manual 24/7 sampling of Pichia cultures in the 6,000 sq. ft. Hackney Wick facility increases contamination risks and data variability. Vulnerability: Contamination and inconsistent sampling undermine 21 CFR Part 11 integrity and reproducibility for FDA submissions.
2
Bioprocess
Hardware Lock-in
Pilot plant expansions (e.g. 3 L–70 L) are limited by fixed-port legacy bioreactors that cannot scale without full system redesign. Vulnerability: Vendor lock-in and capital intensity slow scale-up and limit flexibility.
3
Integration
Data Fragmentation
Existing Sartorius/Applikon hardware in the Hackney Wick lab operates in data silos, requiring manual aggregation for reporting and process optimization. Vulnerability: Inefficient data use, no centralized control, and higher cost of modifications from incumbent vendors.
4
Bioprocess
Inconsistent Dosing
Precision fermentation with Pichia requires exact methanol dosing; manual or on-off feeding leads to cell toxicity or low protein yields. Vulnerability: Suboptimal induction reduces product titer and delays cost parity and commercial scale-up.
5
Compliance
Scale-up Gap
Paper-based logs and manual data entry in R&D hinder 21 CFR Part 11 compliance required for FDA and EFSA submissions. Vulnerability: Audit findings and delayed approvals for GRAS and Novel Food dossiers without non-editable audit trails.
Opportunities Analysis
Automation Priority Matrix
X: Urgency · Y: Impact · Size: Difficulty of Implementation
Hover bubbles to highlight corresponding opportunity cards.
Automated Aseptic Sampling
Manual 24/7 sampling increases contamination risk and data variability in multi-vessel Pichia and osteopontin runs.
Deploy QB AutoSampler with 5-stage path decontamination and up to 24+ sources to eliminate manual sampling and secure aseptic integrity. Urgency: 85 | Impact: 90.
Precision Methanol Feeding for Pichia
Manual or on-off methanol feeding causes toxicity or low protein yields; exponential feeding is critical for AOX1 induction.
QB Precise Dosing (SPM-001) with exponential feeding algorithms via QB Control can increase product titer by a factor of 11 vs. on-off strategies. Urgency: 90 | Impact: 95.
Digital Compliance and Audit Trail
Paper-based logs and manual data entry hinder 21 CFR Part 11 compliance and slow FDA/EFSA submissions.
QB Lab Manager / QB Control for non-editable audit trails, automated batch reports, and centralized process data. Urgency: 80 | Impact: 85.
Legacy Retrofit and Data Unification
Sartorius/Applikon hardware operates in silos; full replacement is costly and vendor modifications are expensive.
QB Edge gateways to digitize legacy equipment via OPC-UA/MQTT and centralize control with QB Control at roughly 50% of full replacement cost. Urgency: 75 | Impact: 80.
Modular Scale-Up and TFF Downstream
Fixed bioreactor configurations and manual TFF/buffer exchange limit scale-up and gentle handling of fragile proteins (e.g. osteopontin).
Modular QB Bioreactors and QB TFF with centrifugal pump (PMP-003) for low-shear TFF and TMP regulation. Urgency: 70 | Impact: 75.
QB Systems Solution Proposal
QB Systems Solution Proposal
Targeted solutions designed to resolve the identified Better Dairy friction points.
AutoSampler + QB Control (product image)
Automated Sampling Suite
AutoSampler + QB Control
Integrated QB AutoSampler and QB Control eliminate manual 24/7 sampling with aseptic 5-stage decontamination and full data traceability.
Value Proposition
- Elimination of shift-based manual sampling
- Full data traceability and audit trail; 21 CFR Part 11–ready for FDA submissions
- Reduced contamination risk via aseptic closed-path sampling
Precision Dosing Unit (product image)
Precision Dosing Unit
Precise Dosing System + Multisensor
QB Precise Dosing (SPM-001) with QB Control recipe-driven exponential feeding for Pichia methanol induction. Ideal for fed-batch and perfusion.
Value Proposition
- Recipe-driven exponential feeding; precise methanol and substrate control
- Repeatable fed-batch and perfusion; higher product titer and yield
- Elimination of manual dosing errors and cell toxicity risk
QB Edge + QB Control (image / diagram)
Existing Systems Retrofitting
QB Edge + QB Control
Extend capabilities of existing systems (e.g. Sartorius/Applikon bioreactors) with QB Edge and QB Control; flexible integration with a variety of vendors for centralized control and audit trail.
Value Proposition
- Vendor-agnostic control; centralized data from legacy equipment
- No full replacement cost; extended lifecycle of existing bioreactors
- Compliance and audit trail without rip-and-replace
QB TFF System (product image)
Custom Filtration Skid
QB TFF System
QB TFF with pressure sensors and centrifugal pump (PMP-003) for automatic TMP regulation and low-shear concentration (e.g. osteopontin).
Value Proposition
- Automated TMP control; low-shear concentration; process intensification
- Scalable from R&D to pilot; reduced manual handling and product loss
- Faster path to scale-up
Beyond the Standard
Need a custom configuration? We can propose a setup tailored to your processes.
Request a Demo / Bioprocess Audit →Operational Impact & Use Cases
Efficiency Gains & Proof Points
Time savings, contamination reduction, and deployment speed.
| Metric | Result / Example |
|---|---|
| Time Savings | Up to 72 h unattended operation with AutoSampler; 30-day full setup delivery (case study). |
| Contamination Reduction | 5-stage path decontamination (Air Purge, Wash, Rinse, Dry, Disinfect) to minimise cross-contamination risk in high-value osteopontin runs. |
| Setup Speed | Entire bioreactor setup delivered and operational in 30 days (QB case study); retrofit of Sartorius bioreactors in ~3 months. |
Articles Gallery
Knowledge Base
Topics: Modular bioreactors vs monoblocks, the future of aseptic sampling, retrofitting legacy lab equipment.
Lab of Tomorrow
Optimizing lab infrastructure through modularity, reusability, and parallel processing
How modular, software-defined lab systems reduce cost and time and enable the "lab of tomorrow" with dynamic P&ID and centralized data.
Read More → ComplianceFrom Paper to Performance: Operational Efficiency and Compliance in Labs
Digitization, automation, and simplification for QC labs: audit trails, LIMS integration, and vendor-agnostic QB Control for compliance and efficiency.
Read More → IntegrationDon’t let vendor lock-in hold your lab hostage
Extending existing SCADA and bioreactor systems with QB Control via OPC UA, Modbus, MQTT; retrofit and multi-vendor integration without full replacement.
Read More →Contact & Call to Action
Request a Demo / Bioprocess Audit
Contact us for a tailored demo or bioprocess audit.