Rockwell Automation and Cytiva have announced the joint launch of the Figurate Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, developed to remove digital bottlenecks during biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
The new system will work across multiple instrument vendors and modalities, providing the connectivity needed to enable digital integration to advance modern bioprocessing.
"Biopharma teams are under pressure to move more quickly, but their systems are often not built to keep up," said Matt Weaver, Vice President of Global Industry Life Sciences at Rockwell Automation.
This collaboration with Cytiva marks a pivotal step in our mission to democratise digital manufacturing, enabling biopharma innovators to deploy SCADA faster, smarter and more affordably.
Why this matters
Biopharma teams often face challenges due to proprietary systems that cannot communicate with each other. This can result in operational silos, reliance on manual workarounds and risks to data integrity.
Data shows a rising demand for advanced process control systems as organisations shift towards data-driven process intensification and continuous manufacturing.
Equipment fragmentation remains one of the top pain points cited by biomanufacturers, particularly those advancing programmes from R&D to clinical scale.
Cytiva and Rockwell's new system should address these issues by utilising an open architecture that supports integration with third-party instruments. It will also allow for real-time oversight of integration-capable unit operations from a single interface.
By providing teams with a unified digital control layer, the Figurate SCADA will reduce the risk of human error, accelerate tech transfer and support reliable scale-up as workloads grow in complexity.
The new platform features include the following:
- Native interoperability: the platform is natively integrated with Cytiva bioprocessing equipment and Rockwell Automation's FactoryTalk software suite, enabling seamless interoperability across systems
- Scalable growth: a single platform expands from process development to commercial manufacturing without system redesign
- Cost-effective compliance: a streamlined digital manufacturing system reduces capital and operational costs and enables cGMP compliance
- Rapid implementation: pre-engineered templates and modular design shorten deployment and validation timelines
- Enhanced operational insight: centralised alarms, real-time monitoring, process intensification and batch reporting tailored to bioprocess workflows.
Nicolas Pivet, Vice President, Manufacturing and Digital Solutions, Cytiva, added: "This collaboration is designed to empower the next generation of biomanufacturers."
By combining Cytiva's domain expertise with Rockwell's automation leadership, we're delivering a solution that's both powerful and practical.