About
People
Isabelle Kos Lab Manager & Quality Manager
Overall Goal
- Support rapid company growth with scalable lab infrastructure
- Eliminate manual processes and improve traceability
- Prepare lab operations for clinical readiness by end of 2026
Approach
Fully digital lab operations with Labguru
Results
- 15,000+ hours saved annually
- €160K–€400K in estimated yearly value
- 30% faster experiment setup
- Fewer human errors
Isabelle Kos
Lab Manager & Quality Manager
VANUDIS is a Heidelberg-based biotechnology startup, founded in 2022, developing the next generation of antibody-based therapeutics. With a clear vision to deliver innovative immunotherapies to patients, the company is advancing cutting-edge programs in CAR-T and CAR-NK cell therapies, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) featuring immunoRNases, and novel innate antibody therapeutics.
Deeply science-driven, VANUDIS focuses on translating breakthrough research into novel treatments for blood cancers, solid tumors, and inflammatory diseases. Less than three years after initiating discovery, the company’s lead CAR-T program has reached the threshold of clinical evaluation.
- This rapid trajectory marks a pivotal transition—requiring not only scientific depth but also operational discipline and execution. VANUDIS doubled in size, expanded lab capacity, integrated equipment, and aligned its broader R&D efforts toward next-generation platforms. Processes that had once worked informally were becoming harder to scale.
- Documentation habits varied across the teams.
- Inventory systems weren't always up to date.
Like many growing biotech companies, Vanudis quickly realized the need for a more structured and centralized approach managing its scientific operations.
Fast forward today: “We use Labguru for everything. It’s become integral to how we work — and we can’t imagine going back.” We sat down with Lab Manager, Isabelle Kos, to learn about Vanudis’ journey.
Challenges
Vanudis needed to rethink how their lab operated: the company had doubled from 20 to 40 employees, they had brought in new equipment, and scientific complexity had increased. Alongside this growth came increasing scientific complexity, new equipment from external labs, and a need to rethink how the lab operated day to day.
With no dedicated lab manager in place for over a year, Isabelle inherited systems like inventory tracking, protocol documentation, and sample tracking that had not been maintained. Inventories were scattered across multiple Excel files — many of them outdated — and physical cupboards often didn’t match digital records. Freezers held boxes of samples without detailed labels or clear histories. Some equipment hadn’t been used or maintained in over 12 months. When I asked the team about their main bottlenecks, the answer was clear: too much time lost searching for data and materials.
The lack of centralized information meant delays and an increased risk of duplicate work. Researchers often discovered reagents were out of stock only after setting up an experiment. Documentation quality varied widely, which made troubleshooting and collaboration difficult. Even the lab’s physical footprint added complexity: spread across 19 different rooms, managing materials and workflows manually was becoming unmanageable. It was clear that to scale effectively — and prepare for preclinical trials in 2026 — Vanudis needed to bring order, visibility, and standardization to every aspect of lab operations.
“We needed more than software — we needed a lab-wide infrastructure that could link data, processes, and people, while remaining flexible as we grew.”
After thorough evaluation of five LIMS and ELN platforms, comparing features, cost, usability, and integration potential – Vanudis chose Labguru. They haven’t looked back since.
Solution
From day one, every scientist received a tablet to use Labguru directly at the bench, and all documentation, inventory, protocols, and sample data were consolidated into a single platform.
“We created a structured naming system and virtual map of the lab. Now everything has a place — and it’s searchable.”
To ensure consistency, the newly appointed lab manager uses Labguru to manage all inventory operations. He enters new stock, applies labels, and verifies records against deliveries. Labguru makes his day-to-day a whole lot easier. The inventory system automatically tracks quantities, links reagents to experiments, and flags items nearing expiry.
On the experimental side, the team leveraged Labguru’s protocol and experiment modules to standardize documentation. Scientists can now duplicate or modify protocols with a click, link reagents directly from inventory, and track outputs across multiple projects. For cross-team coordination, shared calendars and the Scheduler tool allow pre-booking of high-demand equipment, reducing downtime and friction.
The integration of Labguru’s SQL dashboards enabled deeper oversight. Although still developing their reporting capabilities, the team is building custom queries to monitor experiment completion and documentation, reagent usage, repetitive tasks completion and overall lab productivity — unlocking real-time insights that weren’t possible before.
"Labguru isn’t just a digital notebook. It’s how we run the entire lab — inventory, equipment, documentation, you name it."
Results
Since implementing Labguru, Vanudis has fundamentally reshaped how its lab operates — shifting from fragmented, manual processes to an integrated fully digital system that’s fast, reliable, customized and built for scale. The gains have been both immediate and measurable.
Across the team, researchers estimate that Labguru saves up to 10 hours per person each week. With around 30 scientists using the platform, that adds up to over 15,000 hours saved per year — the equivalent of more than 7 full-time roles.
Much of this time was previously lost to redundant inventory checks, digging through folders for protocols, searching for old experiment documentation and recreating work due to missing records. Now, experiment setup is 30% faster, and inventory issues that once caused major delays are virtually eliminated.
“We’re no longer chasing down reagents or looking through folders. Labguru gives us back hours every single day.”
Vanudis estimates Labguru is saving them between €160,000 and €400,000 annually, going about 10x return on their investment before the company even enters clinical development. A key contributor to this ROI is inventory control: issues like expired reagents, duplicate orders, and stockouts have been virtually eliminated.
“The system brings order to the lab — with clear labeling, full traceability, and seamless integration, nothing slips through the cracks”
Just as important as time and money is scientific reliability. Every experiment now has a digital footprint. Researchers can trace a result back to the exact stock, lot number, or operator involved. Linked protocols and mandatory data entry ensure consistency across teams.
As a result, the lab has seen a reduction in human errors, particularly in experiments that rely on accurate reagent selection and setup.
"With full visibility into experiment progress, even in someone’s absence, managing the lab is faster, clearer, and more efficient. That level of transparency is a game changer for lab management.”
An Eye to the Future
With a solid digital foundation now in place, Vanudis is focused on the next phase: translating its most promising CAR-T cell therapies into clinical readiness by the end of 2026. Labguru will continue to play a central role — not just in daily lab operations, but in ensuring the quality, traceability, and documentation required for regulatory compliance, with the goal of bringing transformative therapies to patients.
As the team grows and projects evolve, Vanudis plans to expand its use of Labguru’s dashboards and automation features, bringing even more structure and insight into its R&D workflows.
As Isabelel put it, “Labguru’s possibilities are endless”. With the lab now smoothly running, Vanudis is now using Labguru to create a fully integrated quality management system that will collect training records, use SQL Dashboards for real-time monitoring, flag untrained personnel when specific devices are used, track repetitive lab duties, and ensure equipment maintenance tasks are completed.
“We don’t think of Labguru as a tool anymore - it’s how we work.”
