THE FUTURE OF CRO PROJECTS
BioPharm: From a CRO perspective, where do you see biopharmaceutical R&D outsourcing in say 5-10 years from now? What key changes may
have occurred by then?
Gillett (Charles River): The driving forces in drug development are pushing all sponsors of all sizes to diversify their portfolios beyond the boundaries
of their traditional product lines, to share risks, and to collaborate. In this era of increased collaboration, sponsors and
CROs can be a powerful team because they share the common goal of developing successful new therapies, are non-competitive
in their financial interests, and have complementary skill sets. CROs' experience can support sponsors who may be reaching
outside their comfort zones towards novel technologies and regulatory practices.
Kauffman (Lancaster Labs): We predict a consistent increase in outsourcing. As sponsor companies transfer more of their expertise to contract laboratories,
more testing will be outsourced. As pipelines grow, sponsors will look to outsourcing partners to help meet their objectives
without having to build the capacity to support all of the work in-house. Key changes will most likely include improved analytical
technology and bioinformatics.
Breau (MPI): The number of biologics being developed as a percentage of all pharmaceutical activity is growing. Many recent mergers and
acquisitions were executed to increase the biological footprint of the acquiring company. As novel technologies to produce
biologically derived products lose patent protection, the growth in this area should accelerate.
Reason (SGS): Market estimates indicate that biologics are taking an increasing share within R&D spending, thus offering huge opportunities.
We expect to see R&D outsourcing follow the trend of the number of biopharmaceutical products in development with perhaps
an increase in the outsourcing percentage. We also expect there to be an increased requirement among sponsor companies for
CROs to provide a one-stop-shop. Finally, there is likely to be an increase in the number of high-level agreements between
CROs and biopharmaceutical companies to provide an integrated approach for developing biopharma products.
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