Risk-reduced cost management practices (No. 4)

4. Outsourcing (CROs)

While most attention is paid for reducing the risk and the cost of drug development, from the clinical perspective, contract research organizations (CROs), in order to manage successfully require flexible and efficient management team. Considering the managerial issues, the ‘Monitor closely, Work closely’ team approach proves to be the most accepted across the globe. The basic principle followed by the FIPCOs is certainly based on ‘Inspect, what you expect’ formula. In order to minimize the cost, what needs to be delivered needs to be expected early in the developmental pipeline. Issues like, the increasing attrition rate in CROs, often indicate that the people you end up with are not the people who started the work. The most important thing for any bio/pharma company is to have their communication channels well equipped in terms of rules and regulations that needs to be followed. The middle level product manages required to be rightly placed at the right time in order to monitor the progress efficiently in the hierarchical manner.

From drug discovery to selling, the bio/pharmaceutical industry needs new solutions. Outsourcing provides the small pharmaceutical company the ability to take new drugs through clinical trials by avoid the investment in infrastructure which would normally be necessary. These companies are mostly looking at collaborative research outsourcing work to be done out of India. Another theme on collaborative research outsourcing (CRO) is likely to become the next big wave after contract research outsourcing.