KS&R Pharma Industry Research Update:
Pharmaceutical CRO Driven by Cost, Clinical Need;
Covance and Quintiles Top of Mind in US, Europe

Syracuse, NY – January, 2008 – In the pharmaceutical industry, contract research organizations (CRO) speed drug discovery and lower product development risk and costs with improved clinical research processes. Increasingly, pharmaceutical firms look to CROs as vital resources, able to cost-effectively fill critical staff expertise shortages and to maximize patient trial recruitment. The number of CROs servicing global markets also has risen with pharmaceutical companies’ struggles to fill drug pipelines and products losing patent protection.

Hundreds of companies worldwide offer CRO services to meet various aspects of drug advancement, including early and later-stage product development, preclinical and clinical research processes, as well as after-market monitoring. Some of the largest and more well-known CRO players include Charles River, Covance, PAREXEL, PPD, and Quintiles. Traditionally, these service providers have been based in the US and Europe because of regulatory and proximity issues; however, CRO operations are increasingly diverse, with India, China, and South America emerging as viable cost-saving and highly skilled places to manage activities.

KS&R conducts ongoing primary market research in the pharmaceutical industry. Recently, KS&R undertook a series of inquiries to analyze key perceptions and trends around the global CRO market, in order to assist pharmaceutical clients in making informed CRO decisions. The latest KS&R PharmaPanel research delivers new insight into global pharma CRO processes and practices. Some of the findings include:

Perceived Leading Organizations
Covance and Quintiles take top positions in Europe and the US; PAREXEL also is among the perceived leaders in Europe; PPD in the US.

What Drives Adoption
Cost is the most important factor in making a decision to outsource services to a CRO.

Stage of Research
Outsourcing is deemed by clients to be particularly important in Phase IV clinical trials, Phase IIIb clinical trials, and quality of life assessments.

CRO Activity Growth
84% of participants indicate plans to use some combination of outsourcing in the near future; in the US 44% and Europe 58% indicate they will outsource 100% of development activities.

Additional KS&R research concerning pharmaceutical CRO use is available online at PharmaPanel (www.pharmapanel.com). PharmaPanel is comprised of pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry executives who actively participate in research studies concerning topics at the forefront of interest in these industries.  Panel members are located throughout the United States and Europe, and are intimately involved in their company’s clinical development and commercialization activities.

Figure 1. Pharma Outsourcing Policies and Practices.

Figure 2. Clinical Development Outsourcing Attitudes.