Outsourcing In The Pharma Industry

It's seems as though a new strategy has emerged in the pharmaceutical industry to now outsource it's clinical trials work. According to a recent article posted on FierceBiotech, Pfizer is seeking to reduce it's clinical trials overhead by more than 9 billion dollars.

As Pfizer lays off thousands of R&D workers and scales back a research wing which consumed a whopping $9.4 billion last year, it's turning more to outside companies to handle trials rather than keep everything in house. Pfizer is following a path already blazed by rivals like Sanofi, which has developed a close relationship with Covance. And the change has helped drive a wave of consolidation in the CRO world as companies band together into large global operations that promise to provide a more efficient method for development as they compete for these exclusive deals.

But, as any cynical pharmacist might wonder, just how far will this outsourcing go in order to provide a more efficient method for generating pharma profits?

Image Artist: Penbender at Worth1000.com