4 BioPharm International eBook March 2018 www.biopharminternational.com
Outsourcing Resources Drug Development
Outsourcing: Does Focus Pay Off?
Research suggests that working with a single contract partner can
reduce development time and improve economics.
AGNES SHANLEY
D
rug development has reached a point where
nine out of every 10 new drug candidates
fail in the clinic (1). Competitive pressures
have led to explosive growth in demand
for research and development (R&D) out-
sourcing, especially as smaller biopharma and phar-
maceutical companies play a more prominent role in
drug development. Starting in the 1990s, larger con-
tract development and manufacturing organizations
(CDMOs) began to acquire drug substance manufac-
turers to diversify their business models beyond drug
products. Since then, some have added other critical
functions such as regulatory affairs and logistics.
As a result, pharmaceutical manufacturers, espe-
cially small- to mid-sized companies, are discovering
that partnering more closely with one diversified con-
tract company can reduce development time and cost.
CDMOs such as Patheon (now part of Thermo Fisher
Scientific) performed their own research to quantify
the potential savings. This work resulted in an "Eight
Weeks Saved" marketing campaign for Patheon's inte-
grated service offering, recalls Jennifer Therrien, head
of marketing campaign strategy. But, as outsourcing
continued to grow, there was a need for indepen-
dent testing to validate these claims and quantify
the benefits of moving from multiple to single-part-
ner service models. Patheon proposed just such a
project to Tufts University's Center for the Study of
Drug Development (CSDD), which took on the proj-
ect. Patheon funded the work. Results (2) came out
in 2017 and were published in a white paper (3) in
October 2017, and a paper is expected to be published
in Clinical Therapeutics by April 2018.
USING NPV TO GAGE PROFITABILITY
CSDD grounded the study in the concept of net pres-
ent value (NPV), a fundamental measure of project or
product profitability that is based on the difference
SUKJAI
PHOTO/shutterstock.com
