Neuroplast goes digital, saves huge amounts of time, and develops quality processes to match company growth

About Neuroplast

Neuroplast is revolutionizing the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. By 2050, 115 million people will suffer from these debilitating diseases for which no effective treatments exist today. Its cell therapy Neuro-Cells® is a radically different treatment approach as it consists of a mixture of cells, does not involve genetic manipulation, and is created from the patient’s cells in a procedure that enables use in acute settings. It works by stabilizing the environment, containing inflammation, and optimizing regenerative potential. There is solid evidence for broad applicability for both acute and chronic neurodegenerative conditions. With a primary focus on trauma-induced neurodegenerative diseases, Neuroplast is currently finalizing its Phase II clinical trial in Traumatic Spinal Cord injury.

With Neuroplast developing a unique stem cell product that could have a positive impact on millions of lives, quality assurance is vital. So Scilife Customer Success Manager, Trine Michelsen, talked with the QA team at Neuroplast to get their view on all things quality.

Chiemezie Nwakire (QA Manager), Heleen Willems-Kessels (QA Team Lead), Daniela Silva, and Ingrid Kramer (QA officers) took time out from their busy days to provide first-hand insights into how Scilife has helped Neuroplast go digital, streamline their quality workflows and save huge amounts of time as the company grew.

The Search

As a bio-tech company that is developing stem-cell therapy for millions of people, Neuroplast had to overcome an obstacle to prepare for the next phase because all of their quality assurance documents were on paper. As QA Team Lead, Heleen Willems-Kessels explained:

"Our biggest challenge was document control. If you can imagine, each time we would publish a document, it took us two hours to print, stamp, collect signatures…"

Her QA Manager, Chiemezie Nwakire added:

"If you wanted to make five documents effective, you would spend a day doing this. As the company was growing, how could we manage with hundreds of documents? "

Not only was Neuroplast developing a cutting-edge product, but it was growing fast as a company. Being paper-based was inefficient and unsustainable. They needed a digital solution. And they needed to start with document control. So they turned to Scilife. As Heleen said:

"Now with Scilife, document control is streamlined and you can publish documents with a click of a button."

The Set Up

The QA team at Neuroplast came with a range of experiences as they embarked on implementing Scilife’s eQMS into their own quality processes. Chiemezie had already worked with a few eQMS systems, so for him it was easy:

"We picked it up quickly. One thing about Scilife, it is easy to use and very user-friendly."

For QA officer Daniela Silva, using an eQMS was a new experience, but one that she relished:

"When I knew I was going to work with an electronic system, I was very excited. When you come from a background where everything is on paper, anything that is electronic is yes please!"

Of course, transitioning from their old, paper-based system to a new, digital one took some time setting up. As Chiemezie pointed out, this is something every company should plan for when changing systems. 

The QA team at Neuroplast found Scilfe’s Knowledge Base very helpful in providing set-up guidance. And what made it even easier for Neuroplast was the open communication with Scilife. In Chiemezie's words:

"It’s been really great to have the support and guidance from Scilife. You guys listen to us. The communication and collaboration are good. Even when we have issues, we always find a way to solve them together."

Favorite Features

As they started using Scilife as part of their daily work, the QA team at Neuroplast soon grew accustomed to the various features. QA officer, Ingrid Kramer, said:  

"I like the dashboard. You know what is coming on your plate and you can’t forget that you need to perform a task."

With an automated, digital system, the QA team no longer needed to chase paper trails or risk documents getting lost. For Ingrid, there was one favorite feature in particular:

"Document control because with one click you can publish a document or plan to publish it for a future date."

As the QA team lead, Heleen added:

"I like that it links with the training solution: re-training is automatically required when a new version is published".

With Neuroplast growing as a company, having a system that was automated was hugely important - enabling the QA team to become much more efficient.

Expert Advice

Whichever sector of the Life Sciences industry you work in, your organization needs to move away from paper and use a digital quality management system. So, what advice does the QA team at Neuroplast have for anyone looking at acquiring a new system?

In his role as QA Manager, Chiemezie had a few concerns, the first of which was the alignment of requirements vs. the functionality offered by the various systems, and the second was the operational and financial implications. Based on this assessment, the best-fitting option within the budget range was selected

Daniela added that the eQMS that you choose should be the right fit for your organization. What do you want from the system? And what do you need for your specific business?

"Scilife is a great way to start your journey into quality."

The Results

So, how is the journey working out for Neuroplast? Before using Scilife, the QA team spent hours and hours physically printing documents and chasing paper trails. 

With an eQMS in place, Chiemezie, Heleen, Daniela, and Ingrid all save huge amounts of time - becoming much more efficient and achieving fantastic results. We'll leave Daniela to have the final say:

"The process has been streamlined and is much quicker now. The number of documents that we revised in such a short space of time… we showed the results to management and it was crazy!  We couldn’t have done that before Scilife."

Would you like your organization to become more time efficient?   

If you want an eQMS that helps your company grow, then feel free to reach out and see how you can switch to Scilife.