It's About The Customer

By Rob Wright, Chief Editor, Life Science Leader
Follow Me On Twitter @RfwrightLSL

Throughout the year, I have met with various pharmaceutical executives at conferences and trade shows. During those discussions, one message was readily apparent — the industry is focused on innovation and looking to external business partners for help.

The vetting process for selecting strategic outsourcing partners can be very time- consuming, often taking up to a year or more. Time is a luxury an industry focused on innovation can’t afford to waste. These industry execs indicated they could use better data to streamline the process and that peer opinion would be very valuable. As a result, Life Science Leader has developed an awards program in conjunction with research firm Nice Insight recognizing the CMOs held in high regard by pharma execs — hence, this issue’s CMO Leadership Awards.

Our readers told us they would find value in knowing which CMOs are perceived as being leaders in quality, reliability, accessibility, productivity, and regulatory compliance. Although Life Science Leader is presenting these awards, we don’t determine who wins. That is done by the most important voice, YOU, the reader and user of CMO services.

We think having awards backed by customer opinion is important and credible. The types of companies being recognized for winning the CMO Leadership Awards have scored in the top quartile in at least one of the previously mentioned areas. Also, we have categorized the awards by dosage form. Check out pages 16 to 18 for the winners by dosage form.

In the past, if you wanted this type of information, you hired a third party to survey your customers, or you did it yourself. Unfortunately, those methods often leave you wondering if your customers are just telling you what they thought you wanted to hear. An executive with a CMO once told me how he questioned the validity of such an exercise, because not only did you have to pay a third party to collect the data, but customers filling out the survey still knew who was sponsoring the research.

I hope you like the inaugural CMO Leadership Awards supplement. If you have suggestions to improve it or any other thoughts, drop me an email at rob.wright@lifescienceconnect.com. I look forward to congratulating the award winners at upcoming trade shows and conferences and reminding them not to rest on their success, but to keep raising the bar, and most of all, keep listening to you — the customer.