Cost Of Quality: Worth Every Cent In Biopharma Manufacturing

By Crystal Mersh

During my career as an executive in pharmaceutical manufacturing quality assurance, I have heard the term "cost of quality," or COQ for short, over and over when advocating for budget and resources. In many cases, management has viewed budget items for improving systems, equipment, employee education, and qualifying secondary suppliers and their materials as "nice to haves" instead of necessities. As a result, these quality system areas were not invested in as much as is necessary to ensure optimal bottom-line results.