As drugs become more complex and are developed for a wider range of indications, including for specialty and rare diseases for which no approved treatment options exist, the volume of clinical trials has increased. The clinical trials industry is on track to grow at a CAGR of 5.7% through 2028.1 This increase in demand has put pressure on contract research organizations (CROs) and sponsor companies who might find that the resources needed to successfully launch and execute a trial are lacking.
The increasingly global reach of clinical trials adds to this complexity, and the need to find the right partner to navigate local regulations and interface with governments is heightened. The urgency regarding clinical trials has also increased throughout the industry owing to the high stakes involved in bringing a drug to market, as well as logistic challenges, unfamiliarity with foreign markets, and myriad other potential roadblocks on the way to moving a product to commercial launch. When it comes to clinical trials, time is correlated with spend. The median cost of a clinical trial is $20 million, though this can be much higher, depending on the complexity of a molecule or the number of sites and participants involved.2
A Full-Service Clinical Trials Partner
CROs are central to enabling clinical trials, and these players must innovate to keep pace with demand and evolving client needs. As a single-source solution provider for comparator and reference drug sourcing, clinical trial materials, ancillary supplies, clinical packaging and labeling, storage and distribution of investigational medicinal products, placebos, pharmaceuticals, and more, Globyz Biopharma Services is well positioned to leverage our integrated offering to introduce Globyz Clinical Solutions, a new vertical for CRO solutions in support of clinical trials. After referring clients to other vendors in the past, we made the decision to expand and fulfill their requests by offering a broader range of services under one roof. This expansion has been made possible through our strategic partnerships with local vendors. Our clients benefit from the company’s existing industry relationships and, by only interfacing with us, are spared the aggravation of extending timelines, increasing costs, and dealing with other parties, which is common when sourcing trial supplies from multiple vendors.
As products move between vendors — especially internationally — risk increases. Relying on more than one third-party vendor is correlated with greater expenditures and increased timelines, which adds up over the course of a clinical trial. To avoid bearing the brunt of that cost, not to mention delaying time to market, we give sponsors full access to a range of services. When we deliver products, we deliver directly to the sites and interact with the investigators. Providing supportive CRO capabilities is a natural extension of our business, and we are equipped to succeed in this space because we will continue dealing with the same stakeholders.
Taking Advantage of Flexibility
As a nimble, mid-sized organization, we can accommodate a diverse range of client requests and deliver faster than larger, rigid CROs. We are also able to offer clients a reduced cost compared with larger CROs, since our overhead is low. Globyz Clinical Solutions is equipped to handle a variety of requests without consuming all resources. By aligning with small biotech and pharma companies, we have maintained our flexibility.
This flexibility is so central to our organization that we currently offer our clients customized packages, so they have the liberty to pick and choose the exact services needed. For instance, some clients rely on us exclusively as a depot service or for comparator sourcing, while others take advantage of our capacity across the entire CTS space, including sourcing comparator drugs, packaging, labeling, storage, and distribution, as well as identifying sites and assuming clinical trial operations and data management.
Having a physical presence in Canada, the United States, Europe, India, and Southeast Asia helped spur our transition into an end-to-end clinical trials partner, as we realized how attractive and beneficial our global reach and existing infrastructure have been for our existing customer base. Much of our expansion came about by connecting the dots of our different internal capabilities, including project management, data management, biostatistics, and regulatory support.
Meeting Customer Demand
Expanding and diversifying based on customer demand has been a reoccurring scenario for Globyz throughout our life span. When our clients begin inquiring about additional services, our immediate reaction is to find a way to adapt and extend those offerings directly to them. Once those capabilities are developed in-house, we start alerting other customers. We attribute our focus on accommodating clients with our ongoing growth — we’ve grown organically as well as operationally to meet their needs.
By enhancing our service offering, we have moved up the value chain and are generating business. We’re also evolved from the supply chain side of the industry to the “knowledge-based” side, adding value to customers as we grow. While we can’t predict what’s coming next in the clinical trials space, we’re remaining on top of the increased digitalization activity underway across the industry, including with artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and electronic patient monitoring. As opportunities and challenges alike arise, we prioritize technology, learning as we go, and building the capabilities required to stay competitive.
The Globyz Competitive Advantage
A competitive mindset is integrated into our organizational structure. One of our primary differentiators is how diffuse we are, as opposed to competitors that are markedly siloed. These organizations specialize in comparator sourcing only –– and there are only a handful of companies that can provide both comparator sourcing and clinical trial supply management. Even if they have this dual capacity, there are many other key CRO services they are unable to provide. While a company may have clinical trials supply management capacity and packaging and labeling, they’ll hire a courier company for transportation, meaning that they ultimately outsource key activities. At Globyz, customers can feel confident that all the diverse elements of their clinical trial are being handled by the same professionals who understand the broader needs beyond any one service.
By building strengths in packaging, labeling, distribution, transportation, project management, site management, identification of the site for feasibility, and everything else that goes into a clinical trial, Globyz has established a very unique position. Our relationships with sponsors, customers, and stakeholders and our history of dealing with this type of activity throughout our comparator sourcing foundation have given us the confidence needed to expand. Globyz’s ultimate goal is to provide a seamless experience for our clients so they can benefit from the outputs associated with relying on one partner rather than wrangling different solutions from multiple vendors.
References
- Global $69.5 Billion Clinical Trials Market to 2028: Increasing R&D Promoting Outsourcing & Adoption of New Technology in Clinical Research. Research and Markets. 8 Jun. 2021.
- Moore, Thomas J. “JAMA Study First to Estimate Key Clinical Trial Costs.” Institute for Safe Medication Practices. 24 Sep. 2018.