· Lina L. Faller, Ph.D. · Quick Take · 2 min read
Build vs Buy in Biotech
The hidden costs of building vs buying in biotech
I’ve lived on both sides of the “build vs buy” equation in biotech, and honestly? Both extremes taught me expensive lessons.
THE “BUILD EVERYTHING” COMPANY: We built our own LIMS, lab automation software, workflow orchestrators—everything powered by cloud infrastructure. It worked, but the maintenance burden was real.
THE “BUY EVERYTHING” COMPANY: Management thought we could just purchase our way to efficiency. The budget ballooned fast, and we still needed internal expertise to make anything work together.
Plot twist: None of our shiny new tools could talk to each other without expensive “managed services.” And guess what? We still needed internal project managers to coordinate with those managed services.
Here’s what nobody puts in the budget: the hidden cost of integration 💸 💸 💸
Buying a tool isn’t buying a solution—it’s buying a component that needs to fit into your ecosystem. That integration work? It still requires your people, your time, and your expertise.
The reality I’ve learned: healthy companies live in the middle. Build your core differentiators, buy your commodity functions, but ALWAYS budget for the glue that holds it together.
The most successful biotech teams I’ve seen ask different questions:
- “What gives us competitive advantage?” (Build this)
- “What’s table stakes for the industry?” (Buy this, but budget for integration)
- “Do we have the expertise to maintain this long-term?” (Be honest here)
The “buy everything” approach often comes from leadership who think technology problems can be solved with purchasing decisions. But integration, customization, and ongoing maintenance still require internal technical expertise.
You can’t outsource your way out of needing to understand your own data infrastructure.
What’s your experience with build vs buy in biotech? Where have you seen companies get this balance right (or wrong)?
