What do you want? A servant or a partner?

Development expertise has waned over the years. They realized that they needed to out-source the development of the new products. At the same time they needed to build a clinical development department. Should they choose a CRO with expertise in their field? Or, should they identify a CRO with development expertise to help them? What would you do? What did the company do?

The senior managers thought long and hard and realized they needed a partner to help them, indeed a partner that would be willing to share expertise and experiences and to help them grow and be willing to share expertise and experiences so that they could develop their own organization and at the same time jump start their development plans without loosing time.

They set about finding a CRO that had development expertise, a compatible philosophy and a commitment to helping their clients succeed on all levels not just the immediate development goals. They found Hesperion.

At that time Hesperion was an emerging mid-sized CRO having successfully managed the development of Bosentan? for Actelion and was eager to take on complete programs for new clients using a partnership model to manage the overall process.

From the outset both companies realized that this was probably going to be a mid-term solution, since the client, apart from wishing to accelerate their development plans, also wished to (re) build their internal development capability. Hesperion was willing to take on these immediate tasks and recognized that part of the relationship would involve helping to develop and train the client’s evolving development department.

So how did it work out?

To manage the various projects a joint steering committee was set up and project staff was assigned based upon expertise – the pool of staff coming from the client and Hesperion.

This meant that, in some cases, client staff “reported” to Hesperion staff. It did mean that the project teams were really teams and not just people thrown together whether they liked it or not, and to further enhance the team spirit joint teaming building training was arranged (jointly paid for), which also helped build the trust within the teams and between the companies.

The interactions also changed.

The old way:

The new partnership way:

Instead of the usual “communication pipeline” with request for information going one way and responses returning, now there was a real “overlap” of the companies so that information was properly shared and disseminated within both organizations, thereby reducing uncertainty and enabling both the client and Hesperion to act much more proactively since there were fewer (if any) “secrets”.

The commitment of everyone was assured and the various projects went ahead smoothly. Even budgeting was much easier, because it was developed within the joint teams – to the extent where client staff were defending Hesperion costs to their management! During the lifetime of the partnership expertise was exchanged; Hesperion learned about the client’s therapeutic area and the client learned about clinical development processes, which helped them build their new development department.

Of course, it was not plain sailing throughout (even in a pharmaceutical company there can be disagreements between departments), but because of the joint spirit issues never escalated and were discussed in a constructive and solution-seeking manner. Again, saving time and resources and removing a feudal mentality.

So, what was gained?

The project teams were dedicated to their projects – there was a sense of ownership, involvement, or “belonging”. The client remained in control – there was no sense that the “CRO is in charge”.

Throughout the process there was:

• Flexibility & responsiveness – it was easier to change direction without endless scope change documentation
• Efficiency - the teams were result driven, focused and reliable
• Transparency – both in project management and finances
• Stability – the teams wanted to stay together
• Consistent quality and speed

Hesperion was able to learn about a new therapeutic area and further develop the mindset needed for true co-operative partnerships in the out-sourcing arena.

The client was able to get the new products developed smoothly and did not have to delay whilst spending time acquiring development expertise. During the partnership they were able to incrementally train and develop their staff so that today they manage their own projects.

Today, the partnership has evolved and the client, with the help of Hesperion, has built up and developed their internal clinical development expertise. Hesperion has also evolved and gained the experience and the confidence to promote this kind of approach and mindset when working with clients and has retained this approach of partnership and openness.

In conclusion, both sides gained by seeking complementary and synergistic rather than just additive experience and expertise, which led to a real positive gain for both companies. Although such an approach would not suit every company, in the right circumstances and situation this model can be of great value both to the client - by helping in multiple ways, not just the clinical study at hand - and to the CRO, by gaining expertise in other therapeutic areas. In this case, both client and Hesperion were able to share in the projects achievements and reap their respective benefits.