Skip to main content

STARLIMS suits labs that fit its ready-made workflows. Seal is configured around your process.

Seal, the GxP execution system, is your eBR, your QMS and more. Neil, your AI agent, does the paperwork across your systems. You sign. Bioventix cut document admin time by 80%. Start with one process beside STARLIMS.

Book a demo

Where STARLIMS falls short.

From STARLIMS’s own pages and the news of its purchases.

  • Every customer
    A team of consultants
    Their roles
    Project, analysis, design, QA
    Its engineers
    Configure the LIMS
    Seal
    Neil, then your approval

    Configured by a services team.

    STARLIMS assigns every customer a team of consultants, and after a gap analysis its software engineers configure and implement the solution. In Seal, Neil configures the first process from your procedure, and your team approves it.

    STARLIMS, Professional Services, 2022
  • 1986
    L.I.M.S. Ltd., incorporated
    March 2026
    MODA, from Lonza
    LIMS and MODA
    Built by different companies

    Manufacturing, bought in 2026.

    STARLIMS, incorporated in 1986, agreed in March 2026 to buy Lonza’s MODA platform to extend its LIMS “into manufacturing operations”. In Seal, the lab, the batch and quality are one set of records.

    Pharmaceutical Outsourcing, March 2026
  • CAPA
    Not on its list
    Change control
    Not on its list
    Document control
    Not on its list
    In Seal
    One set of records

    No quality system on its list.

    STARLIMS’s product list, MODA included, names no CAPA, change control or document control. In Seal, deviations, CAPA, change control, documents and training run on the same records as the laboratory and the batch.

    STARLIMS, LIMS and Laboratory Informatics Solutions
  • QM Essentials, live
    4 to 6 weeks
    Seal, a first process
    48 hours

    Weeks to go live, on its workflows.

    STARLIMS says QM Essentials, pre-loaded with its workflows, deploys in as little as four to six weeks. Seal has a first process working for you to evaluate within 48 hours, once the scope is agreed and the inputs received.

    STARLIMS, QM Essentials

See it in Seal.

Real Seal screens with fictional test data: one result outside its limit, from the sample to the investigation, then Neil’s overnight release review.

  1. 1

    Each result with its method and source.

    Release test S-041-12: every result carries its method version, instrument file and limit, and the batch it came from.

    Sample S-041-12, release testing, in Seal: linked to batch B-041 and a potency preparation, a table of results for potency, impurity A and water content with unit, limit, status, method and source, and water content outside its limit with the investigation open.
    1. The batch it came fromB-041, linked to the sample.
    2. Method and source on every rowEach result keeps its method version, instrument file and limit.
    3. The exception, at the resultWater content 0.72% against ≤ 0.50%, with the investigation open.
  2. 2

    The investigation starts with its evidence.

    INV-041 opens on the result outside its limit, with the instrument file, the method, qualification and wider impact to assess.

    Investigation INV-041, laboratory review, in Seal: water content 0.72% against a limit of 0.50% or less, linked to sample S-041-12, a table of evidence to assess for source acquisition, method execution, qualification and wider impact, and the conclusion still open.
    1. The result in questionWater content: 0.72% against a limit of ≤ 0.50%.
    2. From the sampleS-041-12, linked to the investigation.
    3. What to assessThe instrument file, the method, qualification and wider impact.
  3. 3

    Neil checks every lot. People decide.

    Overnight, Neil checked each lot against its release plan and said what its record leaves out.

    The release board in Seal: 111 lots in release across three sites, $123M waiting, 86 with nothing open, and a table of the lots with findings, each with Neil’s summary, its value and a predicted certification date.
    1. The morning, in two lines111 lots and $123M waiting. 86 need only a decision.
    2. Neil’s summary of each lotWhat is open, and where Neil found it.
    3. A predicted certification dateFrom how long this site’s lots have taken.

What Seal’s customers measured.

Each figure links to the customer’s story.

QualityAcclinate and Skye Biologics

−50%
quality cycle times at Acclinate, from a procedure change to everyone trained.Acclinate
−40%
non-conformances at Skye Biologics, with training checked before execution.Skye Biologics

RecordsMiAlgae and Bioventix

−75%
documentation time at MiAlgae, from the lab to commercial production.MiAlgae
−80%
document admin time at Bioventix, after two decades on paper.Bioventix

STARLIMS and Seal, side by side.

Every source is listed under References.

STARLIMSSeal
What it isLIMS and lab informatics¹The GxP execution system, with LIMS built in
Built forLaboratories across many industries¹Process development, the lab, manufacturing, batch release and quality
Data modelThe sample, from intake to result²Primitives your team composes: record types, their relationships, steps and checks
AIA stated “agentic” direction, with no agent named on its product pages³Neil, Seal’s AI agent, prepares changes to the process; your team approves them
Who configures itAssigned consultants, after a gap analysis⁴Your team, with Neil preparing it from your procedures
ManufacturingMODA-ES batch records, from Lonza’s MODA (2026)⁵⁶Batch records on the same records as the lab
Quality systemNo CAPA or change control in its product list¹⁶Deviations, CAPA, change control
Getting startedQM Essentials in 4–6 weeks²A 48-hour evaluation of one process, once the scope is agreed and the inputs received

Summary

The story
STARLIMS is good for testing laboratories whose work fits its ready-made workflows. It was incorporated in Israel in May 1986 as L.I.M.S. Laboratory Information and Management Systems Ltd.,⁷ and Abbott agreed to buy it in 2009 to strengthen its diagnostics business.⁸ Its model is the sample, tracked “from intake to result” through more than 15 out-of-the-box testing workflows.²⁹ STARLIMS says its small-manufacturer edition deploys in as little as four to six weeks,² yet every customer is assigned a team of consultants whose engineers configure the LIMS after discovery and a gap analysis.⁴ In 2026 it bought Lonza’s MODA platform to extend the LIMS “into manufacturing operations”,⁵³ and said it is “delivering agentic capabilities for enterprise laboratories”.³ If your laboratory works the way its workflows do, it can work well. That is rare, and rarer now that the work changes so fast.

1What STARLIMS offers.

STARLIMS sells LIMS and lab informatics platforms by market: R&D, quality control and manufacturing, public health and clinical diagnostics, with the Labstep ELN, an SDMS, an LES and advanced analytics around the LIMS.¹ Its Quality Manufacturing LIMS contains “over 15 OOTB workflows”, including batch testing with COA, stability, environmental testing and materials receiving,⁹ and QM Essentials is a subscription LIMS for small and medium-sized batch manufacturers, pre-loaded with batch login, environmental monitoring and outsourced samples and deployable, STARLIMS says, in as little as four to six weeks.² It now also sells the MODA platform: MODA-EM for environmental monitoring, MODA-ES electronic batch records, electronic logs and weigh and dispense, for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, cell and gene therapy and CDMO manufacturers.⁶

2Running Seal alongside STARLIMS.

Teams move to Seal one workflow at a time, with STARLIMS connected read-only until the move is complete. Seal has no dedicated STARLIMS connector; Seal’s REST API and Scripts connect it, as they do any system not on Seal’s integrations list, and Seal reviews the interfaces with you.

Confirm with your STARLIMS administrator which interfaces and exports your release exposes, and agree the records, the direction of transfer, the credentials and the failure handling before setting up anything. Scripts are versioned Python in Seal that can call an external service after an event or on a schedule; they are changed, tested and published like other Seal records. Instruments can also be connected to Seal directly: Seal IoT watches an export folder on the instrument workstation and keeps the original file with the result it produced.

Start with read access. Keep the STARLIMS sample identifier on the linked Seal record rather than creating a second sample identity, and decide which of the sample, test, analyte, replicate and revision the connection reads. Test missing, delayed and duplicate records, and reconcile what arrives against the source. Treat any write-back as a separate decision with its own operation, review gate and audit evidence. The LIMS integration guide and the regulatory guide set out these checks.

3Moving from STARLIMS to Seal.

Start with one workflow and expand from there.

  1. Choose one workflow that crosses the laboratory and the floor, such as one manufacturing exposure window for environmental monitoring, or one release test that feeds batch disposition.
  2. Bring the monitoring plan or method, a redacted specification, representative results and an instrument export. Start with sample material, or arrange an NDA before sharing confidential records.
  3. Neil proposes the workflow, and your team checks it against the source and how the work runs. Once the scope is agreed and the inputs received, Seal prepares the first working process and its validation pack to evaluate within 48 hours. Production timing then depends on scope, interfaces, migration and your release requirements.
  4. Exercise the failure cases before release: a missed location, an incubator excursion, a corrected count and a failed instrument transfer.
  5. Agree which system owns each record during the transition, how identifiers map and what must reconcile. Evaluate historical records, original files, versions and review status before deciding what to migrate; work outside the scope stays in STARLIMS.

The LIMS blueprint and the environmental monitoring blueprint describe these workflows in detail.

References

  1. 1STARLIMS: LIMS and Laboratory Informatics Solutions, STARLIMS. https://www.starlims.com/ (read 5 November 2026)
  2. 2QM Essentials: LIMS for SMB Batch Manufacturing, STARLIMS. https://www.starlims.com/qm-essentials/ (read 5 November 2026)
  3. 3STARLIMS Appoints Max Schultz as Chief Executive Officer, Business Wire, 4 June 2026, as archived. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260604502290/en/STARLIMS-Appoints-Max-Schultz-as-Chief-Executive-Officer (read 5 November 2026)
  4. 4STARLIMS Professional Services: Personalized implementation and support for LIMS operational excellence (brochure), STARLIMS Corporation, 2022. https://www2.starlims.com/wp-content/uploads/professional-services-brochure.pdf (read 5 November 2026)
  5. 5StarLIMS to Acquire the MODA® Platform from Lonza, Pharmaceutical Outsourcing, 26 March 2026. https://www.pharmoutsourcing.com/1315-News/624824-StarLIMS-to-Acquire-the-MODA-Platform-from-Lonza/ (read 5 November 2026)
  6. 6MODA Platform: GMP Manufacturing and Quality Software, STARLIMS. https://www.starlims.com/moda/ (read 5 November 2026)
  7. 7STARLIMS Technologies Ltd., Amendment No. 1 to Form F-1 registration statement, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 22 May 2007. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1396278/000095013607003673/file1.htm (read 5 November 2026)
  8. 8Abbot announces definitive agreement to acquire STARLIMS Technologies for $123 million, News-Medical, 15 December 2009. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20091215/Abbot-announces-definitive-agreement-to-acquire-STARLIMS-Technologies-for-24123-million.aspx (read 5 November 2026)
  9. 9Quality Manufacturing LIMS, STARLIMS. https://www.starlims.com/rd-quality-manufacturing-informatics-platform/lims/ (read 5 November 2026)

AQuestions and answers

Is Seal better than STARLIMS?

Yes. STARLIMS is good for testing laboratories whose work fits its ready-made workflows. It was incorporated in Israel in May 1986 as L.I.M.S. Laboratory Information and Management Systems Ltd., and Abbott agreed to buy it in 2009 to strengthen its diagnostics business. Its model is the sample, tracked “from intake to result” through more than 15 out-of-the-box testing workflows. STARLIMS says its small-manufacturer edition deploys in as little as four to six weeks, yet every customer is assigned a team of consultants whose engineers configure the LIMS after discovery and a gap analysis. In 2026 it bought Lonza’s MODA platform to extend the LIMS “into manufacturing operations”, and said it is “delivering agentic capabilities for enterprise laboratories”. If your laboratory works the way its workflows do, it can work well. That is rare, and rarer now that the work changes so fast. Seal has no fixed model of one kind of work. It is built from primitives: record types, the relationships between them, and the steps and checks that use them, which your own team composes into your process, with Neil able to prepare each change for approval. So one platform runs process development, the laboratory, manufacturing, batch release and the quality system, and each change becomes a new version, released once its selected tests pass, while earlier runs keep theirs. Moving from paper, Bioventix put its quality system and lab records on Seal and cut document admin time by 80%.

Is Seal a LIMS?

Yes. Seal covers sample management, specifications, analytical methods, stability, environmental monitoring and microbiology, OOS and OOT investigations, reference standards, instrument data and certificates of analysis, on the same records as batch records and the quality system.

Is Seal an alternative to STARLIMS?

Yes. STARLIMS is designed for laboratory testing. Seal covers the QC laboratory STARLIMS runs, with batch records, environmental monitoring and the quality system on the same records, where STARLIMS reaches batch records through the MODA platform it bought from Lonza in 2026. An excursion or an out-of-specification result in Seal opens with the affected batch and its evidence already linked, and changes are released as tested process versions.

Does STARLIMS have a quality system?

STARLIMS is designed for laboratory testing. Its product list, including the MODA batch record and environmental monitoring modules it bought from Lonza in 2026, names no CAPA, change control or document control. In Seal, deviations, CAPA, change control, documents and training run on the same records as the laboratory and batch work they concern.

Does Seal need separate products for the laboratory, batch records and quality?

No. Seal’s LIMS, ELN, electronic batch records, environmental monitoring, deviations, CAPA, change control, documents and training were built on one platform, so a result, the batch it informs and the investigation it opens are one set of records, with no interface between them to validate and reconcile.

Can Seal connect to STARLIMS?

Yes, through Seal’s REST API and Scripts, which connect systems that have no dedicated Seal connector, and Seal reviews the interfaces with you. Start with read access, and treat any write-back to STARLIMS as a separate decision with its own controls.

How long does it take to start with Seal?

Once the scope is agreed and the inputs received, Seal prepares a first working process and its validation pack to evaluate within 48 hours, configured from one of your procedures, methods or monitoring plans. Production timing then depends on scope, interfaces, migration and your release requirements.

Does STARLIMS run batch records?

Yes, through MODA-ES, part of the MODA platform StarLIMS bought from Lonza in 2026 to extend its LIMS into manufacturing operations. The LIMS and MODA were built by different companies. In Seal, batch records, the laboratory and the quality system were built on one platform, so a result, the batch it informs and the investigation it opens are one set of records.

Start beside STARLIMS.

Start with one workflow that crosses the laboratory and the floor. Seal’s REST API and Scripts connect STARLIMS with read access, so nothing has to move on day one.

Book a demo