Life Science Leader Magazine Supplements

CMO 2015

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LIFESCIENCELEADER.COM THE CMO LEADERSHIP AWARDS 2015 21 How big a factor in raising funds is a company's use of third-party suppliers? ACHAR: I think it's very important, espe- cially if you're a start-up. Being a start-up, you probably don't have the state-of-the- art facilities or infrastructure to do it yourself. That means you need to out- source all aspects of the drug process, including development, clinical trials, and manufacturing. When we decided to outsource, we picked the number one partners in each of those categories. Those companies had great reputations, and we chose them to convince our partners that we were using the best R&D; facility, the best CRO, and the best manufacturing group in the industry. We felt that was very important. AYNECHI: I agree that if you are an early stage company it is very important. At that point in the process, you do not want to have to invest money in the necessary infrastructure. The quality of your vendors is critical, so you want to go with the right outsourcing options, not just the least expensive. That is something we definitely look at when we are doing investing. JUDICE: For a preclinical company just starting out, infrastructure and personnel can be very expensive. Much of the science nowadays is commoditized, so the longer you can put off having a lab and hiring people the better off you'll be. PAPANEK: I work with some virtual com- panies as well, and we are increasingly trying to find vendors and suppliers that are able to help a start-up company with chemical synthesis, biological assays, and disease-specific expertise. Increasingly, we are also asking our companies if they know who, exactly, at the CRO they are working with. If the entrepreneur is working with a CRO team, but we get a different project lead and person to contact every time we call, that's something we would be concerned about. We want people who are fully dedi- cated to our project. We have a good rela- tionship with our contracting groups and recommend them within our portfolio. M. SHAH: I would say at least 95 per- cent of the companies I work with are outsourcing most or all of their develop- ment needs. I recommend working with the best companies available. Don't try to save a few dollars because that will come back to haunt you. Even if something looks expensive, just do it. If you don't, you are going to end up having a problem and paying a higher price later on. Our general rule is to hire the best pro- fessionals you can find who are capable of delivering the results you need. Choosing the wrong partner will reduce your value significantly, so always invest your money wisely. L Integrity, Service & Dedication Ash Stevens has over 50 years of experience developing, registering and manufacturing Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) for clients of all sizes, from Large Pharma to virtual startups. At our state-of-the-art cGMP facility in Michigan, we provide batch sizes from grams to hundreds of kilograms, including highly potent APIs (HPAPIs). We have a very successful track record moving projects forward to commercialization, achieving customer satisfaction through high quality science, regulatory excellence, safety and integrity. Call our team +1 734 282 3370 www.ashstevens.com

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