CRO Leadership Awards; Not A Popularity Contest

By Rob Wright, Chief Editor, Life Science Leader magazine

Last November, Life Science Leader launched the inaugural CMO Leadership Awards. The feedback on that issue was overwhelming. So, it is with much pride that I invite you to enjoy our inaugural CRO Leadership Awards Special Supplement. Both the CRO and CMO awards are data driven. I had to clarify this recently to a person who contacted me via an email inquiring when the nomination process for these awards begins and ends. So, let me explain how the Leadership Awards are determined, so readers, sponsors, and vendors can fully understand the process.

On a quarterly basis, Nice Insight conducts a pharmaceutical and biotechnology survey, which is deployed to 40,000 outsourcing-facing biotech and pharma executives. For example, the Q4 2011 sample size was 2,619. Outsourcing companies are rated on six different attributes — quality, reliability, productivity, regulatory, affordability, and innovation, which recently replaced accessibility. Nice Insight then aggregates a year’s worth of data to determine which companies rank in the top quartile for each of the above attributes to determine award winners. Thus, CRO Leadership Award winners scored in the top quartile for the previously mentioned categories. As innovation was only recently added as an attribute, perhaps it will be an award category for next year. With regard to affordability, in my discussions with both sponsors and vendors, affordability/low cost is not cited as a primary driver for selecting an outsourcing partner and as such, we are not giving out an Affordability Award.

At Life Science Leader, we think having data-driven awards is more objective and valuable than having those given out as a result of a nomination and voting process. In the past, if you wanted this type of information, you hired a third party to survey your customers or you did it yourself. Thanks to survey respondents and the research conducted by Nice Insight, we have taken the guess work out for you. The winners should be proud of these awards because they were determined by data gathered from customers. If your company did not make the grade, consider this a benchmark for developing a plan for improvement.

I look forward to congratulating some of the award winners in person at upcoming trade shows and conferences, such as BIO International and DIA. Keep raising the bar and remember, if you want to win next year, the CRO Leadership Awards are not a popularity contest.