Why Scientist? (Part 1)

How have you been finding and evaluating pre-clinical contract research organizations (CROs) for your drug discovery programs, and how straightforward has it been to utilize them? The answers probably vary widely among researchers and managers, and even between the different types of services you’re outsourcing. Many directories of providers exist – what makes Scientist different?

Most provider directories are a collection of data about CROs. Which is nice, but most of the ‘pain’ of outsourcing comes from what comes next: the information exchange, the negotiations, material transfer, and project milestones and deliverables. Scientist’s marketplace provides you with this information, and also detailed, actionable listings for more than 2000 assays and services.

So, you won’t be left with just a phone number from a directory, you’ll be able to research, compare, and execute services. We make it easy by taking care of the legal process, allowing you to communicate regularly with the providers, and helping to manage your data and materials. We’ll be starting a ‘howto’ series soon, and signing up is very easy, take a test drive!

You’ll benefit both in the short and long term by using Scientist. In the short term, your projects will run more efficiently, accelerating research and encouraging innovation. Long term advantages include capturing metrics which enable procurement cost-reduction strategies and improve outsourcing oversight. Consolidating and optimizing the outsourcing workflow frees up resources in legal, finance, and administration.

Want the really big picture? By standardizing the services, and providing head-to-head competition, improvements in quality and overall value will result. It’s a win-win situation for customers and CRO providers. Utilization of CROs is growing at a compound annual rate of 16%, and is expected to reach $8B in 2013 (Kalorama Outsourcing in Drug Discovery, May 2008). A survey of drug discovery researchers and managers indicated that 41% planned to increase outsourcing by 10% or more in 2009 compared to 2008 (Contract Pharma 2008 Outsourcing Survey).

We think it’s a great time for you to take advantage of new efficiencies made possible by the Scientist marketplace. We’re looking forward to sharing our experiences with you and discussing the future of drug discovery.