Build or Buy?
The Bioprocess Software Dilemma
Biopharma, industrial biotech, synthetic biology, and alternative protein companies are racing to develop scalable, cell-based products. But as their R&D becomes more complex, one question keeps surfacing: should you build your own internal bioprocess software, or buy a purpose-built platform like BioReact?
While building an internal tool can seem like the most customized path forward, it comes with high costs, long timelines, and significant technical challenges. On the other hand, buying a proven software solution provides instant access to optimized workflows, AI-powered tools, and scalable infrastructure without diverting your team from core science.
Let’s break down the pros and cons of both approaches to help you make the right call.
Option 1: Building Internal Bioprocess Software
Pros of Building In-House
Fully Customizable: You can tailor the system exactly to your processes, equipment, and data types.
Proprietary Control: All code and data stay in-house, reducing perceived security or IP concerns.
Integration with Legacy Systems: You can connect to your existing IT stack and lab systems without relying on external APIs.
Cons of Building In-House
High Cost & Time Investment: Building a secure, scalable platform takes at least 12–24 months and a cross-functional team of software engineers, data scientists, and UI/UX designers that cost north of $500k for development with another $200k+ annual for upkeep.
Maintenance Burden: You’ll need ongoing resources to update, fix bugs, ensure compliance, and support users.
Limited AI Capabilities: Most in-house tools struggle to incorporate robust machine learning unless you have a dedicated ML team.
Risk of Fragmentation: Many companies end up with half-built tools used by only part of the team, leading to even more siloed data.
Delayed ROI: Every hour spent building software is an hour not spent optimizing your core product or process.
Option 2: Buying BioReact
Pros of Buying BioReact
Ready-to-Use: BioReact deploys in minutes, not months, with built-in tools for data visualization, statistical analysis, and AI optimization.
Unified Data Platform: Automatically ingests, aligns, and structures bioprocess data from bioreactors, omics workflows, and downstream assays.
No-Code AI Recommendations: Scientists get ML-powered insights without needing to code or hire data scientists.
Scalable & Secure: Built with cloud-native infrastructure and SOC 2-ready data handling.
Cost-Effective: Freemium plan for early-stage teams; affordable enterprise licenses with predictable ROI.
Continuously Evolving: Benefit from feature updates, expert support, and integrations with new instruments and workflows.
Cons of Buying BioReact
Less Customization (Initially): While the core platform is highly flexible, some edge-case features may require future development.
Perceived Vendor Lock-In: Teams may worry about becoming reliant on a third-party tool, though BioReact offers data exportability and API access.
The Real Question: What’s Your Core Business?
If your company’s mission is to optimize cell lines, scale processes, or bring sustainable bioproducts to market, then building and maintaining internal software is likely a distraction—not a differentiator. BioReact allows your team to focus on science while we handle the infrastructure, data modeling, and AI tools.
Build Smart or Buy Smarter
Building your own bioprocess software may seem appealing for customization and control, but it often leads to high costs, technical debt, and slower R&D. Buying a platform like BioReact gives you immediate access to proven tools, optimized for bioprocess workflows, and built with scale and AI in mind. Unless software is your core product, buying BioReact is the faster, smarter path to insight-driven biomanufacturing.
Looking to explore BioReact for your team? Request a demo here.