Connecting CAD and PLM to Transform the Future of Experimental Research and Bioprocessing Services

About the Company

Culture Biosciences is transforming life science R&D with automated, scalable bioprocess development using cloud-connected bioreactors that link data management and automated process control needed for experimental research. Culture Biosciences offers complete upstream support for biopharma and synthetic biology innovations, including dedicated suites for process analytics, cloud-native hardware, and data-driven solutions for hybrid model development.

At a Glance

System Used

Arena PLM and Onshape CAD

Best Thing About Arena

Arena is the daily go-to hub for product record, training, sourcing, and manufacturing information

Bottom-Line Impact

Significantly reduces rework and improves time to market

Key Benefits

A single source of product truth across engineering and operations
Effortless BOM synchronization between CAD and PLM at the push of a button
Cloud-native platforms enable real-time access by product teams anytime and anywhere
Central system for managing product information, training records, and manufacturing documentation
Engineering change workflow improves traceability, reduces errors, and accelerates signoffs

Business Challenges

Driving Momentum

In the world of bioprocess development, agility, precision, and control are essential. Culture Biosciences, a pioneering cloud lab for high-throughput bioreactor experimentation, has rapidly evolved from offering bioprocessing as a service to launching external hardware and software products.

As the company scaled, so did the complexity of managing hardware development, quality assurance, compliance, and manufacturing operations while driving the need for more formal and controlled processes.

Creating Bioprocessing as a Service

The Culture Biosciences journey began with a highly technical vision—to provide bioprocessing experimentation as a service using proprietary bioreactors managed remotely through their “Culture Console” software. Initially, the company relied on internally run services but pivoted to include hardware sales with the launch of Stratyx, a 250 milliliter (mL) bioreactor designed for external customers.

This shift from services to products brought new challenges. Managing complex product information, bills of materials (BOMs), sourcing details, and engineering change orders (ECOs) became increasingly difficult using manual processes and disconnected systems.

Blue quote mark

Before we implemented the connection between Onshape and Arena, our data sharing processes were manual. Parts would be approved in Onshape and forgotten in Arena or, worse, approved in one system and rejected in the other. Now, everything is synchronized and seamless. Onshape releases only become effective once Arena releases are approved.”

—Nick Lester, Mechanical Engineer, Hardware R&D Team, Culture Biosciences

Image-Scientist using advanced bioreactor

Image-bioprocess digital twin displayed on a laptop

The Solution

Digitally Transforming the Business

To address these new demands, Culture Biosciences adopted the Onshape Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Arena Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions from PTC. Onshape was selected to replace an existing on-premises CAD solution. The company needed a new CAD that offered a more robust modeling program, access to other parts of the business, and a system where teams could easily work across the company.

“Our previous CAD solution was chosen early on because it was low cost and ran on Macs, but it wasn’t suited for enterprise-level CAD work,” said Nick Lester, Mechanical Engineer with Culture Biosciences’ Hardware R&D Team. “We didn’t want to replace all our Macs so we needed a solution that could work across platforms. Onshape got the final nod due to both the price and flexibility of being able to work on all our devices.”

Gwen Luke, an NPI Engineer with the R&D Team at Culture Biosciences, noted, “I like the fact that Onshape is cloud-native. We don’t have to worry about things like servers crashing, and I don’t have to go in on Saturdays to upgrade the system like I did with my previous company.”

Prior to using Arena PLM, the team was utilizing a combination of spreadsheets and Onshape release tools to manage BOMs. Nick said, “If we wanted to lock a BOM, that would be an Onshape release purely on the Onshape side and then it would be exported to a spreadsheet.”

A Vital Connection Between Engineering and Operations

The real breakthrough was the Connection between Arena and Onshape. This move gave the company an established seamless synchronization between engineering and operations, the ability to manage compliance needs, and laid a scalable foundation for future growth.

“We were one of the first teams to start using the Connection between Arena and Onshape. We had sandboxes in both systems to experiment with, and we’ve slowly been adding more capabilities as they’re released,” said Gwen.

The Connection enables Culture Biosciences to manage all hardware product information, change orders, BOMs, and sourcing information in Arena—synced directly from Onshape models. Both Onshape and Arena offer cloud-native platforms that enable real-time collaboration anytime, from anywhere.

Onshape’s platform is purpose-built for real-time CAD design collaboration across devices while Arena provides structured release management, approvals, and quality control to ensure product development processes stay on track.

Image-Culture Biosciences laboratories in San Francisco, equipped with segregated modality suites, state-of-the-art bioreactors and analytical instrumentation

Results

Tangible Business Results

Since adopting Arena and Onshape Connection, Culture Biosciences has achieved tangible results in operational efficiency, information integrity, and cross-functional collaboration.

Synchronization and Accuracy
The Connection eliminated the most critical issue—version mismatches between CAD and PLM system information. “Before the integration, parts would be approved in Onshape and forgotten in Arena—or worse, approved in one and rejected in the other,” said Nick. “Now, Onshape releases only become effective once Arena releases are approved. I used to find issues with BOMs in Arena because they were manually transferred. With the Connection, that’s no longer a problem,” added Gwen.
Improved Change Management
Over the last two years, Culture Biosciences has processed over 450 ECOs, averaging around 200 annually. The integrated workflow has drastically improved traceability, reduced errors, and accelerated signoffs. “Having the connection enforces process discipline and saves us from so many mistakes,” said Nick. “We’re dealing with BOMs that include hundreds of components—pressing a button to sync changes has been a massive improvement.”
Streamlined Training and Documentation
Culture Biosciences uses Arena’s training record management and document control capabilities to manage standard operating procedures (SOPs) and employee onboarding within its bio-operations department. “Our entire training platform is now in Arena,” said Nick. “It’s not just drawings; we’re managing training records and manufacturing documents.”

The company plans to expand its use of Arena in several strategic areas:

Quality Management: As new leadership embraces Arena, the team plans to move more quality processes from spreadsheets into Arena’s quality management system (QMS).
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Integration: Future plans include purchasing and integrating Arena with an ERP solution.
One Centralized System: The long-term goal is to have the entire R&D-to-manufacturing lifecycle operating through Arena as the central source to control information and processes.

Accelerating the Work of Life Science Researchers

Culture Biosciences is transforming the biotech R&D landscape by combining advanced hardware, cloud-native experimentation, and agile product development. With the Arena and Onshape Connection, they’ve not only streamlined internal operations but also set the stage for scaling their external product lines.

By eliminating manual processes, ensuring synchronization across systems, and providing a single source of product truth, Arena has become a foundational platform for the company’s future growth. For companies operating in regulated or fast-paced environments, Culture Biosciences’ story stands as a powerful example of how integrated cloud-native tools can drive both innovation and operational excellence.

Image-Stratyx™ 250 Process Development Bioreactor