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Companies Outsourcing a Lower Percentage of Their Total Clinical Budgets, Says Cutting Edge Information
| Source: Cutting Edge Information
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC--(Marketwire - August 6, 2009) - Outsourcing represents a smaller
portion of clinical trial budgets today than it did three years ago,
according to a recent study by Cutting Edge Information.
Streamlining
Clinical Trials examines pharmaceutical companies' clinical operations
and finds that surveyed companies now outsource an average of 46% of their
Phase 3 clinical trial budgets. This shows a shift from the company's 2006
study, in which companies reported outsourcing an average of 59% of their
Phase 3 budgets.
Clinical operations executives revealed to Cutting Edge Information that a
few factors have sparked the trend in outsourcing spending in the current
market. For one, many experts assert that outsourcing does not present the
cost savings that were once promised. They have taken their argument to
conferences and publications.
Although conducting the work in-house is more expensive, according to
clinical development executives, many companies simply cannot accept the
loss of control when outsourcing certain aspects of trials. Internal
groups, such as data management teams, are not satisfied with the risk that
their companies take when outsourcing. If poorly managed, trials could
derail and cost much more to restart. For example, the average cost to
amend a trial protocol even once approaches $500,000, according to Cutting
Edge Information's data.
"Companies are making an effort to outsource less -- or, at the very least,
to control outsourcing costs -- but pharmaceutical companies still
outsource a tremendous amount to CROs and other vendors for trials at all
development stages," said Jason Richardson, president and CEO of Cutting
Edge Information. "Each therapeutic area presents different challenges and
needs. As such, the percentage of clinical development budgets outsourced
varies depending on the disease area."
No company is equipped to manage and execute every aspect of clinical
trials. Outsourcing is a cost-effective answer to managing many clinical
trial operations and maintaining a conservative number of staff to manage
vendor relationships. However, companies are now realizing that
outsourcing does not automatically make things easier, cheaper, or remove a
burden from their plate.
"Companies are being more frugal," said David Richardson, research team
leader at Cutting Edge Information. "Keeping things in-house grants easier
oversight because of institutional proximity. Instead of spending the time
to manage a CRO, companies can focus on ensuring efficient and competent
work."