In early-stage drug discovery, off-the-shelf reagents don’t always align with unique biological targets or strict project timelines. To better understand how custom workflows can accelerate therapeutic development, we spoke with the Custom Services team at BPS Bioscience about their integrated approach to contract research. In this interview, they share insights into the distinct advantages of direct scientist-to-scientist collaboration, the operational value of a milestone-driven framework, and how their ISO 9001:2015-certified infrastructure ensures full intellectual property protection for biopharmaceutical partners.

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What is a custom service and what are the distinct types of custom services offered by companies like yours? Why might a scientist or team at a biopharmaceutical company need custom services?

Custom services refer to scientific solutions designed and implemented to meet the specific needs of a customer’s research program. These services generally fall into two main categories: development services and screening and profiling services.

Development services involve the design and generation of a product tailored to a customer’s unique requirements. This may include the development of a recombinant protein, engineered cell line, biochemical or cell-based assay, viral vector, or other specialized research tools. Throughout the process, we collaborate closely with customers to ensure alignment with their scientific objectives and product requirements. The outcome of these projects is a physical deliverable such as an assay kit, or cell line, which is ultimately transferred to the customer’s laboratory.

Screening and profiling services, in contrast, focus on generating data. In this model, customers provide compounds or libraries, which are evaluated using already established assays. For example, compounds may be evaluated in biochemical assays, or candidate molecules may be compared for potency in cell-based systems. In addition, selectivity profiling can be performed across entire enzyme families, enabling researchers to assess specificity and off-target effects of their compounds.

Biopharmaceutical teams may seek custom development services for several reasons:

• Time constraints: Certain experiments require extensive optimization and may take months to complete. Outsourcing these efforts can help teams meet critical project deadlines.
• Specialized expertise: Projects may need technical skills or experience not available in-house, making collaboration with an experienced partner helpful.
• Infrastructure limitations: Needed instrumentation or lab capabilities may not be available internally and acquiring them may not be practical for a single project.
• Operational model: Some organizations such as virtual biotech companies do not have laboratory facilities and rely entirely on external partners for experimental work.

BPS Bioscience has a broad footprint, from CRISPR/Cas9 engineering to biochemical assay development. How does having this end-to-end expertise under one roof improve the result for a client?

With scientific services, particularly in the field of Assay Development, strategic input and execution efficiency are driven by continuity and integration, for faster timelines with reduced friction. By bringing our core research and development capabilities together under one roof, we streamline the process and reduce delays associated with handoffs between companies. Whether the customer needs to screen small molecules targeting a novel kinase, or build a complex cell-based assay, our scientists work in close collaboration.

BPS Bioscience works along two major pipelines that allow seamless workflows:

• Protein Engineering & Biochemistry: We move from in-silico design and molecular biology to protein expression, purification, and site-specific labeling. Because we develop and use our own recombinant proteins for assay design and our own assays for screening and profiling, we maintain tight control over enzyme quality and consistency.
• Cell Engineering & Cell-based Assay Development: Our workflows span CRISPR/Cas9-based editing, stable cell line development, and functional validation. By aligning cell engineering with functional validation and downstream assays, we ensure each model is designed with its final application in mind.

This ensures that collaboration between teams is upfront, preventing misalignment, and the assays developed are not just technically successful, but fulfill their purpose. Key decisions, such as vector design or tag placement for proteins, are guided by how the final assay will be designed and used. When adjustments are needed, our teams can quickly refine constructs, optimize expression, or adapt assays without delays from external coordination. Each project is led by a dedicated R&D Lead who oversees progress from the initial design through data delivery, ensuring continuity and clear communication throughout.

By integrating our varied expertise within a single workflow, BPS Bioscience enables more consistent, efficient, and purpose-built solutions, ultimately delivering data that clients can act on with confidence.

One differentiator for BPS Bioscience  is that clients work directly with R&D Lead Scientists rather than a general account manager. Why is this direct scientist-to-scientist line so critical when navigating high-complexity projects like iPSC-derived engineering or viral production?

BPS Bioscience is a scientist-founded, scientist-driven company. Since its formation over 20 years ago, the company has maintained a strong commitment to scientific excellence, with more than 40% of our staff holding PhD degrees.

Our scientists work directly with clients from the outset of each project, ensuring that critical information is never lost in translation. By speaking the same scientific language, we foster clear, two-way communication, asking the right questions and fully understanding the goals and complexities of each project. Whether developing a custom AAV product, designing a biochemical assay, or engineering a new cell  line for compound screening, clients are paired with subject-matter experts who understand the objectives, anticipate potential challenges, and can troubleshoot effectively.

This approach ensures that clients collaborate with experienced scientists who bring deep domain expertise and years of firsthand experience with assays and cell line development, minimizing project risk and maximizing success.

Upon project completion, our scientists provide comprehensive reports that include raw and analyzed data, graphical outputs, and detailed protocols. These reports are delivered directly to clients, who can engage with our scientific team to discuss results and receive informed, scientifically rigorous responses.

Scientific research is rarely linear. How does your milestone-measured process function as a technical safety net for a client’s budget and timeline when unexpected data requires a mid-project pivot?

This is a great question. Research projects are inherently unpredictable, and we operate under a modular milestones framework in which milestones are not just checkpoints to measure progress, but are also a de-risking mechanism, particularly for complex projects. Our statements of work are built with go/no-go decision points, allowing the customer to stop or redirect the project  before committing to downstream phases.

For instance, if an assay does not meet the required Z-prime or a cell line shows poor stability, the project pauses prior to the resource-intensive screening stage. This prevents the sunk cost of pursuing a failing technical path.

A practical example is our cell line development process: we include a validation step to measure expression levels before single cell cloning begins. This allows the client to confirm the pool meets expectations before investing in clonal selection. We also offer flexibility in deliverables, such as providing access to both the cell pool and final clones based on the emerging data.

Transparency and communication are critical. Early communication of unexpected or negative results can result in a collaborative pivot rather than a late-stage failure report.

Our R&D teams are structured for agility. When difficulties arise, our scientific Leads will offer alternatives that can be implemented without delaying the project. By prioritizing rapid execution, we ensure that a shift in scope protects both the client’s timeline and their budget.

For biotech companies, IP and data ownership are the primary assets. Beyond the standard NDA, and with your ISO 9001:2015 certification in mind, how does your custom development workflow ensure that the client retains full strategic control, ownership of the innovation generated during a project, and confidentiality?

Our customers retain full ownership and strategic control of their intellectual property when engaging in our custom services. We support this through clear policies and disciplined workflows:

• Full IP ownership: All intellectual property generated during a project stays with the client. We work strictly as a service provider and do not claim ownership, co-inventorship, or downstream rights.
• No financial encumbrances: We do not request royalties or any participation in the commercial success of client programs.
• For cell lines, we maintain upstream licensing obligations with original providers. By licensing these cell lines through us, clients benefit from compliant use under established agreements, helping mitigate potential downstream risks associated with third-party licensing restrictions.
• Confidentiality by design: In addition to standard non-disclosure agreements, we enforce strict internal confidentiality practices. Project information is accessible only to designated team members directly involved in the work, minimizing risk of unintended disclosure. All materials, data, and results are shared only with authorized client contacts. Upon request, we can align with client-specific data governance or documentation requirements.
• No unauthorized use of data: Client data, results, and project outcomes are never used in publications, posters, marketing materials, or internal product development without authorization. Defined deliverables and transfer: Direct interaction with our scientific team ensures that clients maintain visibility and control throughout the project. At completion, all agreed deliverables are transferred to the clients, ensuring them full operational control moving forward.
• Audit-ready quality systems: Our ISO 9001:2015-certified quality management system supports traceability, documentation, and process control, reinforcing accountability.

These principles are not only reflected in our operational practices but are also explicitly defined in our agreements, including NDAs, Statements of Work, and license agreements. Specifically, our agreements clearly state that all data, results, and discoveries generated during a project are owned exclusively by the customer and that we do not claim any ownership, co-inventorship, or downstream rights to materials, data, or inventions arising from the work.

To wrap things up, what are the main reasons biopharma companies ultimately choose to partner with BPS for their custom projects?

Leading biopharmaceutical companies partner with us for custom services. Here’s why:

• Proven product quality: Clients gain access to high-quality custom assays.
• Robust quality systems: Our ISO 9001:2015-certified quality management system ensures consistent standards and excellence.
• Direct scientific collaboration: Clients work closely with experienced R&D Leads, enabling efficient communication and expert guidance throughout each project.
• Reliable performance: Our products are developed and validated to deliver consistent, reproducible results.
• Flexible solutions: We tailor each project to meet specific scientific and technical requirements.
• Structured project execution: A milestone-driven development process ensures transparency, alignment, and successful project outcomes.

Efficient turnaround: Clients benefit from fast turnaround times for compound screening and profiling services.