New Opportunities for CROs as Pharma and Biotech Outsourcing Grows

Despite recent evidence indicating that the overall number of clinical trials in pre-clinical and Phase I-IV have declined in volume, industry research shows that this lack of new study startups may be offset by a growing trend by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to outsource their studies and study management to clinical research organizations.

A recent article in PharmaOutsourcing confirms this theory, observing that despite a downturn in the total number of clinical trials in all phases, CROs may still witness a large increase in new clients, as large pharma, biotech and device companies look to keep their costs down.

“We are less concerned about this trend as we believe the market is undergoing a transformation from a focus on large, simple safety studies to higher-value comparative effectiveness studies” noted Wells Fargo analyst Tim Evans. “This general downturn in trials might be off-set by a substantial increase in outsourcing starts. Pharmaceutical companies might be starting fewer trials but outsourcing a higher percentage of those trials than in previous years” Evans noted.

We know firsthand from experience the challenges that CROs have in meeting study demands as their budgets get tighter and tighter. Sponsors with fewer studies are more involved in the detail of individual study performance and budget trends.

Having an easy to use CTMS that can track study status across sponsors and programs while allowing sponsors direct access to their studies and reports is one way that SimpleCTMS contributes to keeping prices in check.

Additionally, having content in a well-organized solution enables CROs to spend more time on the quality metrics that sponsors and studies need and, in the end, satisfying sponsors. 

We directly see the benefits with our current CRO clients. Utilizing SimpleCTMS has been invaluable in overseeing and trending enrollment and detailed screen failure reasons, categorizing and trending frequently asked questions and reducing the manual efforts associated with preparation of site payments.

The benefits of a web-based CTMS like SimpleCTMS are enormous to both the CRO and the Study Sponsor as Pharma, Biotech and Device companies outsource more of their study management in the future. Transparency, real-time collaborative tools, and a safe, scalable and flexible study environment will be what differentiates the right CRO and positions them to take advantage of the opportunities outsourcing will create in the future.

If you’d like to see firsthand some of the benefits that SimpleCTMS has to offer, or would like to learn more about how a web-based CTMS can improve your study management efficiencies and expedite your trial times, please join us at our next webinar on May 8th at 9AM Pacific Time. Registration is free and we hope you’ll join us!

http://www.simplectms.com/ctms-webinar-demo