Tufts CSDD report reveals use of CROs increasing

Drug sponsors spend more on contract research organizations (CROs) to help develop new medicines than they do on internal staff and infrastructure, but outsourcing practices remain inconsistent and highly customized, inviting inefficiency and unsystematic management practice, according to an analysis recently completed by the USA’s Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development.

Driving R&D outsourcing spending are pharmaceutical and biotechnology company layoffs combined with growing R&D pipelines and the proliferation of smaller companies that typically rely on CROs, according to Tufts CSDD.

"Sponsor demand for CROs continues to rise at a relatively rapid rate. However, outsourcing strategies and practices are fragmented and tactical," said Ken Getz, associate professor and director of sponsored research at Tufts CSDD, who led the analysis. "Although sponsor companies report speed advantages and, on occasion, positive collaborations with CROs, they tend to be study-specific and often fail to scale across the development portfolio," he noted.