There are many reasons why pharmaceutical companies choose to outsource as they fall under escalating pressure to increase the number of drugs that reach the market within a shorter timeframe. One of the primary reasons to outsource R&D activities is to gain acc ess to innovative technology that accelerates the development of high-priority compounds through the product pipeline.

By using innovative technology to decrease the timeline for drug development, pharmaceutical companies recognize revenue earlier and take advantage of a longer sales cycle under patent protection. Beginning on page 28 of this issue, Contract Pharma’s managing editor, Kristin Brooks, talks with a variety of contract service providers about today’s key R&D Outsourcing Trends. She says it’s highly specialized drug products and capacity needs that are really driving increased reliance on contract service providers in the R&D space.

If the demand for contract manufacturing was already on the rise pre-COVID, the pandemic has only accelerated the trend. And as the pharma world continues to put in place the digital infrastructure to better manager operations, cloud technology is emerging as a vital tool to help today’s contract manufacturers be agile, transparent and efficient. According to Brian Curran of MasterControl (page 46), a recent survey revealed that over the next three years, 91% of life sciences companies plan to increase their use of contract manufacturers and with the right cloud-based manufacturing solution, organizations are able to gain a competitive edge.

In, “Contract Manufacturing and Pandemic Resilience,” on page 40, Angela Holley and Scott Cohon from WDPrx – Woodfield Pharmaceutical, LLC, explore the evolving scope of research, product development and tech transfer amid the coronavirus pandemic. They say while the disruption caused by the virus exposed inefficiencies in many areas of the pharma supply chain, it presents an opportunity to re-examine benefits to pharmaceutical manufacturers from outsourcing projects to contract manufacturing partners.

One market experiencing positive growth impact as a result of the coronavirus is wet wipes in pharma. Beginning on page 34, John Waddell from PDI Contract Manufacturing discusses the increased prevalence of wet wipes in drug development. He says, for topical drug manufacturers, wet wipes provide an opportunity to not only improve products for patients but also to extend brand lifecycles and Covid-19 is creating unforeseen demand for wipes in healthcare settings in particular.

On the regulatory front (page 59), Steve Cottrell, president of consulting firm Maetrics talks about the importance of re-assessing outsourcing strategies for ‘new normal’ regulatory compliance. He says the disruptive impact of Covid-19 on drug supply has placed many regulatory and compliance teams under pressure and that re-appraising the balance between in-house capabilities and strategic outsourcing relationships could present invaluable solutions and as well as opportunities.






Tim Wright, Editor
twright@rodmanmedia.com