Biotech firms will increase R&D outsourcing and shift it overseas, finds Booz study

As biopharmaceutical companies look to cut costs and improve speed-to-market, more of them plan to outsource R&D and clinical trials and shift this work overseas to places such as China and India, according to a survey released by global consulting firm Booz & Co.

This study confirms that outsourcing will become an increasingly important part of the competitive landscape and provides key insights into why and how the outsourcing process will radically evolve in the next two to three years. For example, many biopharmaceutical companies will begin outsourcing formerly core activities such as clinical trial monitoring and protocol development to contract research organizations (CROs).

This shift will be driven by new service offerings in real-time data processing and virtual platforms that allow people around the world to securely access clinical data in real time. Outsourcing more of these critical activities along the entire R&D spectrum will transform the nature of outsourcing relationships.