Recession, stimulus bill open new doors for CROs

Connie Johnson Hambley, principal, Steele Executive Search recently wrote an article on Massachusetts High Tech in which she discusses how CROs can benefit from the current economy and President Obama's economic stimulus plan. Here are a few excerpts from her article that we find are particularly relevant for our readership.

Legislators, practitioners and scientists are asking how to contain the soaring costs of health care while providing the best care. The $787 billion economic stimulus package provides for two prongs of inquiry — nearly $10 billion for academic research into new drugs, devices and surgeries for cancer and other illnesses and $1.1 billion to compare existing therapies to assess their effectiveness to treat specific conditions. These areas are subject to reporting and transparency standards as well as an increased focus on using funds efficiently.

CROs can be used strategically as well. They can perform additional directed research on a promising secondary direction while the sponsor company remains focused on its primary objective. Venture capital firms are using them to validate data before investing initial or secondary rounds.

Big pharmaceutical and device firms and biotechs are having layoffs and CROs are holding steady or growing, positioning themselves for winning in this down economy.

Based on your work, do you see CROs thriving in this environment? What do you think about Hambley's thoughts on using CROs strategically? We'd like to hear your thoughts.

For the complete article, please click here.