Successfull outsourcing
Outsourcing is an important means for clinical trial sponsors to bring in outside expertise, from full-service clinical research organisations to smaller functional service providers. Our findings suggest that CROs should continue to focus on adapting their services to serve smaller biotechnology companies, which have emerged as leading stakeholders in the clinical development of new therapies, driving innovation and growth. CROs offer a unique value proposition for biotech companies, which are inherently fast growing and resourceful, often taking the approach of building the plane while flying it.
For CROs to support the biotech segment effectively and enhance their reputation as great clinical partners with innovative scientific leadership teams, they could contemplate six fundamental changes.
Emphasize role as an integrator of best-of-breed capabilities
CROs can further acquire capabilities in key innovation areas within clinical development. They should consider expanding their capabilities in specialized skills with rising importance in clinical development, such as decentralized or hybrid trials. Developing capabilities in these areas can help CROs bolster their value as both general contractors and integrators of market-leading point solutions and strategic partners to biotech companies.
Continue to position themselves as the end-to-end partner of choice for biotech companies
CROs can offer more flexible and outcome-based contract arrangements. Those that formally tie their success to that of the clinical programs they are overseeing are better able to embrace an ownership mentality and improve their perception as an aligned partner. Although several CROs are starting to align their incentives with clients, they can do so at a larger scale, taking bolder steps and putting skin in the game as a rule, rather than by special agreement. This can go a long way toward convincing biotech clients of a CRO’s commitment to their success.
Eliminate incentives that reward prioritization of large pharma companies over smaller biotech companies
Even in CROs that have created dedicated biotech divisions of meaningful scale, company-wide incentives that favor larger pipelines may continue to influence trade-offs, particularly in the allocation of resources between biotech companies and established pharma clients. CROs should recognize and promote the value of building long-term relationships with biotech companies so that this value becomes engrained as a core belief shared by CRO program managers, CRAs, and account executives.
Focus on reliability and credibility through top-notch service
CROs can significantly increase the attention given to biotech companies’ CEOs and C-suites. Providing biotech leaders with top-tier service at all stages of the customer relationship—from the request for proposal, to program design, to final execution—shows the CRO’s commitment to building a relationship that is more than transactional and truly complements the scientific rigor of the biotech company. Besides focusing on project delivery, CROs should ensure strong communications—including digital solutions such as operational dashboards—that help the biotech company’s leadership monitor and understand the progress of its clinical programs, which are often the most valuable part of a biotech company and top of mind for its leadership.
Develop a flexible concierge-like model of clinical-development support
Biotech companies approach clinical development with a heterogeneous set of internal resources and capabilities. While some biotech companies require significant assistance with design considerations, others need CROs purely for operational support. To accommodate biotech companies’ needs, CROs can add significant value by developing a service model geared to the needs or gaps of individual biotech companies, rather than a one-size-fits-all service offering.
Hire and retain more high-caliber, biotech-specific clinical talent
CROs should focus on hiring top talent, including biopharma veterans, who can function as true strategic clinical-development partners to biotech CEOs and founders. A strategic approach to recruitment should position CROs as an attractive “exit” for late-career clinical-development talent—one that offers an opportunity for these seasoned professionals to influence important emerging clinical programs.
These fundamental changes won’t just affect the experience of biotech companies that work with CROs. They could also have a lasting impact on the way CROs are perceived within the industry and beyond, including with regulators, payers, and academic researchers. Perhaps a stronger partnership between CROs and biotech could lead to even safer and higher-quality drugs, as well as a richer biotech drug pipeline.