Outsource Almost Everything!

By: Arzoo Zaheer
Date: May-17-08

The Pharma of Tommorrow

By: John Simons

(FORTUNE Magazine) – William Haseltine, founder and ex-CEO of Human Genome Sciences, sees the future of the drug industry. His prescription calls for nothing less than a disintegration of the modern pharmaceutical company. That’s disintegration not as in ka-boom but as in dismantling, shrinking, and streamlining. “Big Pharma’s problems are mostly the consequence of bigness,” says Haseltine. “Companies have to place an enormous focus on control at every level of their business–from drug development to manufacturing to marketing. But that tends to stifle innovative research.”

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This article discusses how William Haseltine, founder and ex-CEO of Human Genome Sciences, believes that in order to relieve the pharma industry of stress and to increase innovation, the big giants must give way to small mutually collaborating corporations. Haseltine believes that it’s best to outsource almost everything.

“These skills can now be purchased across the globe,” he says. “The screening for active molecules can be done by contract. Animal testing can be done by contract. Process development and manufacturing should be done in Asia, and initial clinical trials and marketing of drugs can be done where the drugs are developed. Only after efficacy has been proved do you have to fund clinical trials in Europe and the U.S.” The new drugs would ultimately need Western regulatory approval, he says, but the outsourced approach would yield vast savings of money and time. “

In my opinion, Haseltine`s idea is worth a try. However, there are three primary issues that should be kept in viewpoint.

1-Managing such a huge level of outsourcing would be very difficult. Innovative trial management procedures must be created and utilized in order to properly manage this all.

2-Proper ethical procedures must be developed to ensure that the rights of the employees in developing countries are properly protected.

3-Owing to the geographical complexity of this idea, communication barriers might develop. A lot of big corporate companies still struggle with this aspect and Heseltine would have to overcome this barrier if he wants his idea to work.

In conclusion, his idea just might work. It might save a lot of precious money and time while at the same time leading to more innovative drugs. However, he must keep into mind the above mentioned points since “proper management”, “employee`s health and happiness” and “proper communication between colleagues and management” are all extremely important in ensuring success.