Why Disruptive Technology is the Key to Transforming Life Sciences

by L7 Informatics | posted on January 24, 2025

Key Takeaways from L7 Informatics and Zaether Leaders

L7 Informatics and Zaether recently announced a strategic partnership to accelerate digital transformation in life sciences. To mark this milestone, Mark Spencer, President of L7 Informatics, and Jenn Azar, CEO of Stellix, Zaether’s parent company, sat down at Zaether’s Customer Excellence Center in Foxborough, MA. Together, they discussed the industry’s challenges and how their collaboration aims to drive meaningful change.

Their conversation was both candid and forward-looking, touching on critical issues such as breaking down silos, contextualizing data, and enabling the systemic shift required to unlock the industry’s full potential. Here are some of the most compelling insights from their discussion: 

The Unmet Need: Breaking the Cycle of Fragmentation

“As an industry, we’ve been talking for years about digitalizing processes, but the focus has stayed too narrow,” Azar explained. “Instead of connecting the entire ecosystem, efforts remain siloed—incrementally improving one area while ignoring the bigger picture.”

Spencer echoed this thought, emphasizing the need for a real paradigm shift. “A definition of disruptive technology is where you take an existing process, break it down, and invent a new one.”

The life sciences industry faces a fundamental challenge: moving away from fragmented silos toward end-to-end systems and mindset that accelerate everything—from research to manufacturing and ultimately to the patient. Without this unifying approach, opportunities for future innovation will be delayed and even lost to the nature and speed of the industry.

As Spencer and Azar pointed out, while breaking silos and rethinking processes is imperative for digital transformation, we must also lay the groundwork for future technologies such as AI.

Why Contextualized Data Matters More Than Ever

As Spencer puts it, “AI will not work unless the data is contextualized.” Without proper context, data remains an untapped resource—useful for specific tasks such as a retrospective analysis but incapable of driving predictive and prescriptive insights.

Azar expands on this idea: “You have to think about contextualizing the data as you work; it’s a complete shift in how we work. We really need to get after it to change the way the industry operates.”

This shift from fragmented data systems to dynamic, contextualized data enables organizations to streamline operations and unlock AI’s full potential. Instead of forcing disparate datasets to align after the fact, a unifying platform like L7|ESP embeds native context into data from the start, ensuring it’s AI-ready, actionable, and inherently valuable across the entire lifecycle.

However, while contextualized data forms the backbone of transformation, another critical and daunting challenge—tech transfer—continues to bottleneck the industry at every stage, from research to patient delivery.

The Tech Transfer Problem: Solving What No One Wants To Own

Tech transfer—the process of moving scientific discoveries from research to development to manufacturing—remains one of the industry’s most persistent challenges. Yet, it’s too often treated as a local problem for individual teams to solve rather than a systemic issue requiring a holistic solution..

“Everyone is trying to solve their piece of the puzzle within their silo, but no one is stepping back to address the system as a whole,” Azar pointed out. “To truly speed up the pipeline from discovery to patient, we need an end-to-end approach.”

L7|ESP delivers precisely that: an orchestration platform that connects workflows and contextualizes data in real time. The platform enables seamless tech transfer by bridging research, development, and manufacturing, ensuring therapies reach patients faster without compromising quality.

Still, addressing tech transfer challenges requires more than technology; collaboration and a connected ecosystem are also necessary to drive systemic change.

Beyond Digital Transformation: A Collaborative Ecosystem

While digital transformation remains an industry buzzword with reason, its impact often falls short when implemented via point solutions. Azar highlights why: “The industry is fragmenting digital transformation into organizational silos instead of focusing on holistic outcomes.”

The partnership between L7 Informatics and Zaether addresses this challenge and complements each other by combining technology and their joint industry expertise:

• L7|ESP provides a powerful end-to-end platform to unify data and workflows.
• Zaether provides consulting and change management expertise to drive adoption.

Together, they empower life sciences organizations to operate as integrated and connected ecosystems, delivering measurable real-world results instead of incremental fixes. This approach sets the stage for a more resilient, forward-thinking future. 

Looking Ahead: A Call to Action for the Industry

The conversation ends with an explicit call for systemic change. Azar urges the industry to rethink its approach, “Imagine the response we could have to the next global pandemic if we orchestrated these processes the right way. We know what has to be done; now, we need to be ready to execute smarter and faster.”

Spencer reinforced the forward-looking approach at the heart of L7’s mission, “We’re not building systems for yesterday; we’re building systems for tomorrow. It’s about creating an adaptable open environment where innovation can thrive.”

The message is clear: the life science industry has reached a tipping point. Incremental improvements are no longer enough to keep pace with the speed of science and the demands of patients. To unlock their full potential, life sciences organizations must move beyond point solutions to embrace disruptive technology and collaboration. Unifying platforms like L7|ESP and partnerships like the one between L7 and Zaether offer a path forward—one that enables and accelerates innovation, streamlines processes, and keeps patient outcomes as the ultimate focus.

To learn more, visit L7informatics.com or contact us at info@l7informatics.com