Agilent chooses Distek to reach US dissolution market
provider for dissolution instrumentation service in North America
under its Lab Resource Management (LRM) programme.
Dissolution testing - in vitro analysis of how solid drugs are released - is performed throughout the lifecycle of drug-delivery products, and a recent trend in the analytical instrument service industry has been for labs to call their equipment manufacturers for service programmes that blend aspects of each of the traditional service models.
For that reason, Agilent has developed its LRM programme - an innovative approach to lab-wide services that integrates instruments maintenance and repair, and extensive service performance reporting, all under a single contract.
Under the terms of the agreement, Distek will also support Agilent engineers in other geographies so Agilent can directly service dissolution systems.
"This could be considered an outsourcing agreement. Agilent does not have a line of dissolution testing equipment, but we recognised the benefits to customers of supporting them under a unified laboratory resource management program," Stuart Matlow, Agilent's spokesperson, told Labtechnologist.com.
"In the major markets, Distek factory technicians are performing the service. In other regions, Agilent technicians have received factory training on Distek instruments and have access to factory parts."
The firm claims that with its integrated service delivery (ISD) model, it can provide an all-in-one service - one contract, one contact, one purchase order, one invoice and one reliable contractor - and therefore help labs reduce running costs.
With this new model, Agilent becomes the single point of contact for all instrument services across the laboratory to streamline service processes and make the service program more convenient for lab managers and analysts.
"Compared to traditional instrument service models, the ISD model reduces the number of process steps and shifts responsibility from analysts to Agilent's on-site resources," said Mike Brown, Lab Resource Management product manager at Agilent.
"It also helps lab managers protect analyst productivity by keeping them focused on lab goals rather than participating in instrument service events."