Commercial IT Outsourcing in the Pharmaceutical Industry

This Health Industry Insights report provides an overview of current IT outsourcing trends in the commercial (sales, marketing, manufacturing, supply chain) pharmaceutical market. Questions answered within this document include:

• How significant of a role does IT outsourcing play in the commercial pharmaceutical market?
• How large is the IT outsourcing market, and how quickly is it growing?
• What are the primary reasons pharmas outsource IT?
• Which IT areas in sales, marketing, manufacturing, and supply chain are currently being outsourced, and which are poised for growth?
• What are the most vital decision criteria pharmas use to choose outsourcing providers?

Eric Newmark, a senior research analyst with Health Industry Insights, believes that"Pressure for life science companies to reduce costs has risen significantly over the last five years. The industry has been hit by a double edge sword, as drug patents expire and product pipelines need bolstering, and generic companies continue to encroach on branded pharmaceutical companies' market share. These issues, coupled with a sense of urgency to protect gross margins, have driven pharmaceutical companies to examine IT outsourcing and offshoring with increased interest. During 2008, 22.5% of life science companies plan to increase IT outsourcing and we expect the market to continue experiencing health growth for the next 2 to 3 years."