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OUTSOURCING INSIGHTS REPORT Survey Methodology: The Nice Insight Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Survey is deployed to outsourcing- facing pharmaceutical and biotechnology executives on an annual basis. The 2014-2015 report includes responses from 2,303 participants. The survey is comprised of 240+ questions and randomly presents ~35 questions to each respondent in order to collect baseline information with respect to customer awareness and customer perceptions of the top ~125 CMOs and ~75 CROs servicing the drug development cycle. Five levels of awareness, from "I've never heard of them" to "I've worked with them" factor into the overall customer awareness score. The customer perception score is based on six drivers in outsourcing: Quality, Innovation, Regulatory Track Record, Affordability, Productivity, and Reliability. In addition to measuring customer awareness and perception information on specifi c companies, the survey collects data on general outsourcing practices and preferences as well as barriers to strategic partnerships among buyers of outsourced services. LIFESCIENCELEADER.COM 18 JANUARY 2015 If you want to learn more about the report or how to participate, please contact Nigel Walker, managing director, or Kate Hammeke, director of marketing intelligence, at Nice Insight by sending an email to nigel@thatsnice.com or kate.h@thatsnice.com. N . W A L K E R participants were backed by 38 percent of respondents. Shared online data banks for nonproprietary clinical infor- mation rounded out the list with 23 percent of respondents indicating it as an opportunity for cost and/or timesaving. While a robotics lab may sound like it's right out of a sci-fi film, the technology currently exists and has the potential to offer a variety of advantages to drug developers. According to survey respon- dents, the most appealing element of working with a robotics lab is that it can offer faster turnaround than a tradi- tional CRO due to its 24/7 workflow (61 percent). More than half of the respon- dents found the reduced possibility of human error (56 percent) and the precise nature of repetitive tasks making the experiments more easily reproduced (50 percent) to be benefits of engaging a robotics lab. The mechanical advantage of using robots may give way to second- ary benefits like freeing up staff from rote tasks so that scientists can focus on data interpretation and designing new experiments (41 percent). It will be interesting to see how busi- nesses like Transcriptic and Emerald Cloud Laboratory—two potential game changers based out of Menlo Park, CA — will fit into the outsourcing strategies of drug developers. Regardless of how these innovative companies are included in the mix, one thing is for sure: Biopharma companies are drawn to contract suppliers that use innovative technologies to improve productivity. L By K. Hammeke INNOVATION MOVES UP IN RANK AND TECHNOLOGIES MOVE INTO THE OUTSOURCING PARADIGM