How Casma Therapeutics Built a FAIR Informatics Ecosystem to Support Rapid R&D Growth

Data is Everything

Jarrod Medeiros, after working in labs at leading pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis, Millennium, and EMD Serono, transitioned from scientist to informatics expert. He later joined Casma Therapeutics, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech focused on developing small molecule drugs using novel cellular-degradation approaches based on the autophagy pathway. Medeiros' role at Casma centers on delivering informatics and IT solutions to support researchers and their data needs. He joined Casma shortly after its inception in 2018, aiming to lay an IT and informatics foundation to support the company's growth.

Casma’s FAIR Informatics Vision

Casma, having been spun out of healthcare venture Third Rock, started with a central database for assay and compound data, a registration system, and various statistical and data analytics software programs. Medeiros recognized the need to envision what the company's data systems should look like in the future, focusing on creating an ecosystem of FAIR data—data that is Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. This approach not only improves efficiency but also enables researchers to make connections and uncover insights for breakthrough discoveries.

Medeiros identified that isolated, cobbled-together systems would not suffice as Casma grew. He envisioned an IT foundation that enabled:

• ​Flexible data ingestion: Acquiring data from various sources such as specialty instruments, ELNs, LIMS, and CROs.
• ​Centralized data storage: Ensuring all structured and unstructured data is interoperable, accessible with proper permissions, and centrally housed.
• ​Personalizable data analysis: Allowing stakeholders to access and analyze data using their preferred tools, from Excel to advanced analytics packages.

Dotmatics provided the platform to realize this vision.

Laying a Foundation for Growth with Dotmatics

Medeiros implemented a change-management plan to minimize disruption, preserve effective existing systems, and maximize outcomes.

Preparing Existing Systems

Early steps included standardizing data and integrating existing systems to ensure smooth transition into a more complex informatics infrastructure. For example, ensuring IDs from the registration system would carry over into other systems and preparing experimental data for accessibility within the new solution.

Building Off Dotmatics’ End-to-End R&D Platform

Recognizing that Casma's needs would evolve, Medeiros sought an end-to-end R&D data platform that could support diverse workflows, assays, data types, and user needs, while minimizing the need to switch between systems. The platform needed to scale and adapt as requirements changed. Dotmatics was chosen over other market products and in-house solutions.

Dotmatics allowed Casma to evolve their ecosystem gradually, adopting new solutions in phases and preserving existing ones as needed. This approach provided a stable infrastructure for long-term growth and minimized day-to-day interruptions for R&D teams.

Some Dotmatics capabilities implemented at Casma include:

• ​Electronic laboratory notebook (ELN): A centralized tool for tracking experiment metadata, capturing experiment setup and SOPs, recording and identifying compounds, tracking materials and reagents, capturing and searching experiment results, attaining sign-off, and creating PDF reports.
• ​Centralized informatics platform: A data warehouse with powerful, forms-based, federated scientific search and various data visualization and analysis tools. Scientists can now find and share ready-to-analyze datasets themselves, without additional help or data cleaning.
• ​Assay management: Protocols can be added as needed, such as high-content screening workflows with instrument integration. Additional protocols, like SPR and kinetics, are planned for future integration.
• ​Compound management and registration: Existing systems were linked, with the option to transition to a Dotmatics solution in the future if desired.

Ensuring Success

Medeiros emphasizes the importance of a simple, stepwise approach, flexibility, and user buy-in. Engaging users and leadership in the process, gathering feedback, and communicating the long-term strategy have been critical to the success of the informatics ecosystem at Casma.

"Getting user investment and input has been critical. A lot of time scientists aren’t thinking about the long-term strategy for data because they’re so focused on their experiments at hand; but when you talk to them about the big picture, they always see the value and let you know what will be most impactful for them. We have done a lot of work with our leadership team and scientists to let them know what’s coming and give them the opportunity to provide feedback. This has been critical to the success of this endeavor."