Pharmaceutical Consultants – Invaluable Help in the Current Pharma Environment
The pharmaceutical industry environment has hardly ever been more challenging than today. While in the middle of a worldwide economic recession, firms are being challenged as never before to perform in a number of sensitive areas from quality assurance, product safety and environmental regulations, biological security, and all of this while navigating one of the most active industry consolidation periods ever. Pricing power is eroding as consumption of branded drugs diminishes with the rise of more and more generics, and returns on research and development investment are dangerously close to levels below the cost of capital. This situation has increased the role of pharmaceutical consultants in the overall industry.
Dealing with all of these challenges can be overwhelming, as well as onerous. Few people realize the amount and cost of resources that pharmaceutical firms have to invest in order to bring a product to market successfully. Most of the majors – those firms that have been in business for several decades and have launched successful products that have reported significant returns on investment for them – have built up impressive resources and infrastructure over the years that allow them to stay solvent in these trying times in spite of new regulations and other administrative burdens that government bodies bring forth in what seems a constant barrage. But can small and medium size pharmaceutical firms survive and compete in this environment given their inability to invest hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions of dollars in infrastructure, personnel and administrative, quality assurance, regulatory control and reporting systems? The answer lies in a breed of companies that specialize in delivering just these services and assisting in their development. Pharmaceutical consultants are busy during these challenging times, providing services that complement and maintain firms compliant and in a position to continue developing products that will bring them success.
As demands on pharmaceutical companies grow, pharmaceutical consultants have become more of a one-stop shop for the outsourcing of several functions, including the preparation of external audits, quality control, analytical support, training, regulatory submissions, environmental monitoring, and the like. These and many other activities are distractions from pharmaceutical companies’ most important core activity - research and development (R&D). It is in R&D where the potential for new and profitable patents lie. Patent expiry and additional costs to keep up with regulatory standards are the two most important factors influencing expected revenue streams for pharmaceuticals in the future. These streams can be expected to be volatile. New products and their accompanying intellectual property patents are one of the areas where each company can exercise influence and increase the possibility for future revenue generation. The other area of influence is cost reduction. Most activities outside of R&D are, to some degree, a burden to the revenue and profitability potential of pharmaceutical firms. Pharmaceutical consultants can help with compliance of these non-core functions, thereby reducing costs and providing a more predictable outlook for pharmaceutical company management.
Determining what activities are core and what activities are non-core for each firm is the key to understanding where cost reductions are possible. Pharmaceutical consultants can both help with the task of classifying these activities and looking for outsourcing opportunities. For instance, any activity that spells a competitive advantage or differentiation should probably be kept within the firm – such as product development. The protection of intellectual property is of course the main concern here. Pharmaceutical consultants are increasingly being involved by firms in the identification of cost reduction strategies and – once identified – the planning to bring these reductions to reality.
Smart Consulting Group is a pharmaceutical consultant with experience in many areas of administrative, quality control, regulatory, training, investigation, sourcing, manufacturing, and technology activities. The two principals, Nigel and Denise Smart, have a combined 45 years of experience both at major pharmaceutical firms and in independent work. The areas of expertise covered by Smart Consulting Group are very varied and cover the full range of services any pharmaceutical firm could expect from industry professionals.
If you are seeking pharmaceutical consultants to help you with a specific issue within your firm, or if you require a full assessment to determine where your firm could find areas of cost reduction opportunity, then we encourage you to contact a true professional and experienced group; get in touch with Smart Consulting Group.
