Industries

Life Sciences

ISG advises pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device and contract research organizations on the sourcing, platform and provider decisions that move trial cycle time, cost-to-serve and supply reliability.

TALK TO AN ISG ADVISOR

Life Sciences Advisory for Cost, Compliance & AI Performance

Life Science companies spent the last decade modernizing one function at a time, and the returns on that approach have been flattened. The cost and the delay now sits in the gaps between clinical, safety, regulatory, manufacturing and commercial, where data is held separately and every handoff still needs people to move it. Regulators are pushing the other way, asking for more reporting, more often and with evidence that traces back to the source. AI has made those gaps more expensive, because it only scales where the data underneath it connects. Whether you research, manufacture or sell, performance now is all about two things - whether your data holds together, and whether your providers can deliver against it end-to-end.

ISG helps Life Science companies:

Decide what to keep, what to outsource and what to rebuild, with the business case behind the answer
Select BPO, IT and Software providers on evaluated capability rather than incumbency
Execute Vendor Consolidation programs to go from hundreds of suppliers down to a strategic few
Negotiate contracts, service levels and pricing against current market terms
Benchmark unit cost, compliance and service performance
Manage provider delivery after signature rather than at renewal
Design operating models that hold through M&A spin-offs, and separations
Apply and govern AI to move the needle on costs and compliance
Compress time-to-contract, time-to-baseline and time-to-value on every major initiative

ISG'S LIFE SCIENCES CAPABILITIES

Support Through the Entire Transformation Lifecycle

Advisory & Operating Model

We help you determine where work is best delivered and what it will cost. We compare in-house delivery (including offshore and global capability center options), and external partnerships and develop the business case to move to the redesigned operating model.

Choosing the Right Provider

We leverage ISG Research and provider knowedge-base to quality candidates. ISG not only deeply understands the provider landscape, our research division publishes ongoing evaluations of provider capabilities.

Negotiating the Contract

Whether we lead the negotiations or coach from the back seat, we provide the negotiation strategy to structure deals and partnerships for a governed, autonomous enterprise.

Benchmarking What You Pay

We tell you what the market is currently paying for the work you're buying, measured on unit cost, cycle time and service performance. That turns a renewal from an argument about last year's invoice into a conversation about what the work is worth today.

Provider Performance After Signature

Most of the value in a contract is quietly lost after signature through commitments nobody is tracking. We track the agreed outcomes and hold providers to them, and if there is no vendor management function we design and stand one up.

Platforms, Data & AI

We advise on which systems to modernize, in what order and where AI changes the economics rather than adding a layer of cost. The data underneath usually decides the answer, so the assessment we perform is crucial.

WHERE WE WORK

Across the Pharmaceutical Value Chain

Research & Clinical Development
CRO selection and contracting, FSP versus full-service delivery, clinical data platform sourcing and GCP oversight of outsourced trial operations.
Pharmacovigilance & Regulatory Affairs
Safety and regulatory operations outsourcing including operating model design, provider selection, contracting, technology strategy and ongoing governance.
Manufacturing & Supply Chain
CDMO and logistics provider selection, contracting, technology strategy and supplier governance, with a focus on supply resilience, traceability and accountable service delivery.

Commercial Operations & Patient Engagement
Align commercial and patient service delivery with brand goals and patient needs. Assess delivery models, select technology and service partners and structure contracts that support coordinated customer engagement, effective field teams and responsive patient support.
Enterprise Platforms & Cloud
ERP and cloud migration strategy, application infrastructure and workplace sourcing, software license and SaaS cost control across the estate.
M&A, Divestitures & Separations
TSA design and exit for all systems including validated systems, and separation or integration of IT, CRO, CDMO and Commercial service contracts.

Typical Outcomes of an ISG Engagement

20% reduction in operating costs
20-50% savings against incumbent pricing at renewal
Hundreds of vendors down to a strategic few with our vendor consolidation program
Provider performance measured on outcomes rather than activity
Faster time from decision to signed contract