Leaders in Life Sciences: Dr. Peter Bruesehoff, Director of Quality Assurance at Watchmaker Genomics

Our new Catalyst Q&A series aims to showcase innovators in life sciences and explore how these experts are uniquely approaching innovation and disruption - while also balancing the very real need for speed and quality when developing life-saving products for consumers. Please join me in welcoming Dr. Peter Bruesehoff, Director of Quality Assurance at Watchmaker Genomics.?

Watchmaker Genomics is a life sciences company specializing in the development of high-stringency applications focused on the reading, writing, and editing of DNA and RNA. The company combines domain expertise in protein engineering with large-scale enzyme manufacturing to address the demanding quality, performance, and scale requirements of high-growth clinical genomics applications.

Read on for more insights from Dr. Peter Bruesehoff…

Robert Fenton: How many years have you been in the life sciences, and what are the three most notable changes that you’ve seen and experienced in your career?

Dr. Peter Bruesehoff: I have been working in life sciences for nearly 20 years, across multiple biotechnology and molecular diagnostics companies. During that time, there have been several notable changes that I have experienced, including:

• There has been a significant increase in the importance of having a consolidated and integrated system for management of multiple aspects of running a business (e.g., training, document and record control, product data management, and more);
• The specialized equipment in laboratory spaces has become smaller, more efficient, faster, and, in some cases, more affordable and accessible to a broader range of laboratories; and
• Data is more accessible and plentiful than ever before, and a new challenge has emerged in how to store, transfer, and analyze all the information, particularly for whole genome or whole exome sequencing.

Rob: In what specific ways do you see the life sciences evolving in the next decade?

Dr. Bruesehoff: Over the next decade, I see a continued shift to personalized care and medicine.? The cost and time required for whole genome sequencing has decreased significantly over the past 15 years, and the ability to analyze the resulting data continues to improve.??

As such, I see life sciences evolving to take advantage of the wealth of data being generated in this space.

Rob: What do you see as the biggest challenges to innovation and digital transformation in the life sciences?

Dr. Bruesehoff: One of the biggest challenges I see is trying to have regulations keep pace with innovation in life sciences, specifically in areas involving sequencing. The technology and breadth of applications are expanding and evolving rapidly, and I have not seen regulations in these areas keep pace.??

Rob: If you had to name two companies that have fundamentally changed the life sciences for the better in the last 5 years, who would they be and why?

Dr. Bruesehoff: I believe that Illumina has really changed the life sciences for the better in the last 5 years. Their contributions to affordable and rapid sequencing have helped to accelerate innovation across a multitude of companies in the space.

Rob: How can the life sciences industry more broadly apply lessons learned from the pandemic to accelerate innovation?

Dr. Bruesehoff: The life science industry can apply lessons learned from the pandemic by better understanding and responding to what their employees truly need to be successful in their roles. Not everyone needs to be in the lab for their role, so being able to offer flexible work options to employees will help everyone work and contribute in their preferred and most efficient manner.

Rob: Where are you seeing the most innovation today in the life sciences ecosystem?

Dr. Bruesehoff: One area of innovation I see in life sciences is related to focused and personalized data.? There is a great deal of interest around personalized medicine, and as such, many companies are working in that space.

Rob: How do you stay on top of trends and innovations in the life sciences?

Dr. Bruesehoff: I try to stay on top of industry trends and innovations in my field by subscribing to websites like GenomeWeb and by following innovative companies on LinkedIn. I also try to meet with our own sales and marketing team members to better understand the trends our customers are prioritizing.

Rob: What advice or words of wisdom do you have for early-stage life sciences companies that are looking to disrupt the status quo while accelerating innovation and safeguarding quality?

Dr. Bruesehoff: I would say that early-stage companies should build the concepts of quality into their processes as early as possible, rather than trying to tack them on later. Doing this early allows for “right-sizing” the procedures to maintain the flexibility needed to promote innovation while working towards the controlled design and development outputs that result in high-quality products and services.

For more information, see?Dr. Peter Bruesehoff, Director of Quality Assurance at Watchmaker Genomics.?and?Qualio.

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