Standalone instruments are out; automated workflows are in. That was a take from an interview with Andrew Whitley, VP and field officer for the HORIBA Life Science Business unit, in an interview at PittCon 2025. The company, which just announced a trio of products at the show, is applying lessons learned from its automotive testing roots to transform laboratory analysis across multiple sectors.
“In automotive, we test the whole car,” Whitley explained. “We even contract with automotive companies to put together the test tools they need, to the degree of building the buildings with controlled temperature and humidity conditions. We’re now bringing that integrated mindset to life science, pharma, food, and cosmetics.”
A three-pillar strategy
Whitley outlined HORIBA’s three-pillar approach to serving these markets. “First, there’s the ‘organic’ pillar—continuing to sell our high-end research instruments into R&D, both in academia and industry. Second, we have ‘strategic products,’ where we’re adapting our technologies specifically for pharma implementation. And third, our ‘Yes, we can’ projects, where we develop custom solutions for specific industry needs.”
One example of the latter comes courtesy of the company’s PoliSpectra RPR (a high-speed Raman plate reader) whose backstory traces back to a pharma customer that approached HORIBA with a specific problem: needing to rapidly analyze hundreds of liquid samples in a 96-well plate. Traditional Raman systems weren’t designed for quick, high-throughput screening of liquids.
Recognizing this as a pain point for the broader industry, HORIBA and the customer co-developed a prototype within six months. Throughout that process, HORIBA gathered iterative feedback, refining the design to meet the customer’s workflow requirements. In return, the customer got early access to the technology and feedback to ensure that it met their precise needs. “It’s a really good relationship because you’re building something that meets their requirements—you’re not guessing what the market wants,” Whitley said.
This strategic shift addresses the fragmented nature of laboratory workflows. “The biggest problem we’re seeing is that some established supplier companies don’t want to change,” Whitley noted. “But many pharma companies want to work with us to create integrated analytical platforms, whether it’s rapid Raman spectroscopy in a well plate reader or automated A-TEEM fluorescence screening, that function together seamlessly.”
PoliSpectra Rapid Raman Plate Reader (RPR)
New products for integrated workflows
This strategic shift addresses the fragmented nature of laboratory workflows. “The biggest problem we’re seeing is that some established supplier companies don’t want to change,” Whitley noted. “But many pharma companies want to work with us to create integrated analytical platforms—whether it’s rapid Raman spectroscopy in a well plate reader or automated A-TEEM fluorescence screening—that function together seamlessly.”
Alongside PoliSpectra RPR, HORIBA also debuted two additional products that further echo this integrated approach: Veloci and SignatureSPM. Both offerings reflect the same ethos: integrated, automated tools designed to solve workflow issues in life science, pharma, and beyond.
The Veloci BioPharma Analyzer represents HORIBA’s commitment to both efficiency and sustainability. “Veloci’s A-TEEM Technology offers the speed, cost-effectiveness, and solutions required across research, PAT, and QA/QC,” explained Whitley. The system delivers analysis in as little as three minutes compared to the 30 minutes required by traditional methods like UPLC.
Veloci BioPharma Analyzer
By rapidly screening samples with an approach like Veloci (whose name is Italian for, well, “fast”)—using A-TEEM fluorescence rather than an HPLC run—laboratories can dramatically cut down on solvent and consumable usage. HPLC often requires large volumes of solvents (e.g., acetonitrile, methanol) and generates significant chemical waste that must be safely disposed of or incinerated. It also relies on disposable cartridges and columns that must be replaced periodically. Reducing the number of HPLC cycles through preliminary screening doesn’t just save time and money—it lessens the overall resource footprint of each analysis, which aligns with many companies’ sustainability goals.
As Whitley explained, every HPLC run you don’t have to do conserves chemicals and cuts down on laboratory waste streams, helping labs be fiscally responsible and eco-friendly in the process. “It’s also about being green. Some of our instruments can, if not replace HPLC, reduce the need for it. HPLC still has a place in pharma, but Veloci is a very rapid screening technique. It means they have to do less HPLC, which is good for the planet because HPLC uses a lot of consumables.”
SignatureSPM
Meanwhile, SignatureSPM tackles workflow inefficiencies through integration and automation. “When we start talking about building solutions, as opposed to just delivering instruments, they get excited,” Whitley noted. By combining AFM with Raman spectroscopy, SignatureSPM eliminates the need to shuttle samples between different analytical systems. This is an advantage that Joao-Lucas Rangel, AFM & AFM-Raman Product Manager, described as enabling “precise, multimodal measurements.”
These developments reflect a crucial shift in HORIBA’s business philosophy. “In automotive, HORIBA started doing gas emission testing and then evolved that to be exactly what the automotive industry needed,” Whitley said. “We have a big depth of strength in engineering, so we should just do this for life science.”
