As background, LabVantage was created from the merger of three companies in the laboratory software marketplace. The first of these companies, Laboratory Microsystems, was formed in 1981, and the rest joined in 1997. With these acquisitions, the company took the name LabVantage Solutions, Inc. With broad market knowledge and a diverse product base, the company focused on providing a software solution that would be state-of-the-art and provide graphical workflow and comprehensive information management capabilities.

Accordingly, in the spring of 1999, LabVantage introduced version 1.0 of SAPPHIRE. Initially released as a thick-client application, SAPPHIRE evolved to become a true thin-client Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) in 2001. As a thin-client solution, SAPPHIRE offered organizations lower total cost of ownership and secure, enterprise-wide access to their laboratory information.

In the same year, LabVantage launched an initiative to address the challenging needs of the life sciences industry. In response to market demand, LabVantage introduced advanced functionality that specifically addressed the life sciences R&D market. More than just new functionality, this initiative included the creation of a dedicated team of development, professional services, and sales professionals with life sciences domain expertise.

With the introduction of our Evergreen Webpage Designer in SAPPHIRE v3.2, LabVantage converted SAPPHIRE from a customizable product to a configurable one. Evergreen enables organizations to leverage their SAPPHIRE investment as their needs change, eliminate the reliance on high cost programming resources, and reduce validation cost and effort through a property-driven configuration tool.

In 2004, LabVantage released SAPPHIRE R4, which included more powerful functionality with additional enterprise-wide capability that not only catered to individual laboratories, but to an organization's entire enterprise – from research to development to formulation to quality management. The following year, LabVantage released SAPPHIRE R4.4, with even more configuration and architectural enhancements and further expanded SAPPHIRE's multinationalization capabilities.

With these new releases, LabVantage also added new end-user driven and IT driven functionality to SAPPHIRE, such as our Stability Module for stability testing and shelf-life analysis, our Advanced Storage and Logistics Module for tracking the inventory of reagents and other laboratory items, our BioBanking Module for complete biorespository management, our Clustering Module for additional scalability and reliability, and our Ad-Hoc Query Tool for comprehensive data mining. Further, SAPPHIRE became Powered by SAP Netweaver with the additional of the SAPPHIRE Enterprise Connector seamlessly integrating SAPPHIRE with enterprise systems such as SAP ERP.

In 2007, LabVantage introduced the Ad-Hoc Query Module and SAPPHIRE Enterprise Connector Module Powered by SAP Netweaver. With these modules, LabVantage further strengthened SAPPHIRE's reporting capability as a true enterprise-wide solution, which seamlessly integrates with enterprise systems such as mySAP ERP system.

In June 2008, LabVantage released SAPPHIRE R5. It builds on over 20 years of laboratory information management know-how and almost a decade of thin-client computing experience to deliver an enterprise LIMS that redefines and optimizes the way leading laboratories conduct business. In addition to various new features and functions, this release adds the Corrective Action & Preventive Action (CAPA) module, enabling organizations to monitor and address adverse events, and our reagents and standards management module, providing full featured management, maintenance, and tracking of laboratory consumables. In November 2008, LabVantage introduced the Risk Free BioBanking Solution, followed by the Risk Free Quality Management Solution, released in March 2009. Coupling its industry-leading SAPPHIRE software with a 90-day guaranteed implementation, LabVantage has eliminated the risks associated with system implementation with no compromise on quality.

In August 2009, LabVantage acquired Life Technologies Corporation’s SQL*LIMS business, uniting the premier thin-client LIMS with a significant global footprint of experienced LIMS professionals. Merging the LabVantage and SQL*LIMS teams together created a global presence that is unparalleled in the industry -- LabVantage significantly expanded its market presence to Europe, creating a strong direct presence with local domain experts in the Western European countries, including Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, and Spain. With more than 250 dedicated LIMS employees around the world, plus an extensive partner network, LabVantage is uniquely positioned to meet the laboratory informatics needs of its customers. Through the acquisition, LabVantage further expanded its product portfolio to include SQL*LIMS Plug & Play Pharma Package (P4), a pre-configured and pre-validated solution to reduce implementation time and expense for pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, and biotechnology organizations.

In February 2010, LabVantage announced the availability of SAPPHIRE R5.1, incorporating critical quality management, biobanking, and validation enhancements and further extending SAPPHIRE's functionality to support operations in the clinical space. Also introduced as a part of the SAPPHIRE R5.1 platform, the eForms technology provides a configurable approach to creating and filling out forms electronically, allowing end users to capture data via a flexible, dynamic, and intuitive form interface.

LabVantage redefines the "S" in LIMS with its SAPPHIRE Suite - a zero-footprint and configurable-off-the shelf Laboratory Information Management Suite. SAPPHIRE takes enterprises beyond the world of traditional LIMS by consolidating additional functionality typically found in multiple laboratory systems into one product platform across the global enterprise. With the best combination of functionality, flexibility, & technology in one solution, SAPPHIRE is the software behind organizations’ success.