By KshitiJ (TJ) Ladage and Govindra Singh, Nice Insight

Nice Insight continues its research efforts, seeking fresh data, new perspective and technical, operational insight from the industry’s key decision makers on Contract Research Organizations (CRO), Contract Development and Manufacturing Organizations (CDMO), Pharmaceutical Equipment Manufacturers, Excipient Suppliers, Clinical Supply Chain, Intermediates and Private Equity/Venture Capital players. 

As another exciting year comes to a close, and corporate response to coming business cycles begins, collecting and analyzing data in order to understand the trends driving the industry continues to be an essential planning tool. Anyone who has ever presented a business proposal to an executive board will recognize just how necessary clearly presented market research data is when justifying a host of potential decisions, whether responding to competition, launching a new enterprise or serving expansion goals. 

Nice Insight’s research has emerged from the recognition that with clear, empirical market and trend data available, businesses more effectively focus their marketing efforts and make better projections to sustain their brands. Nice Insight’s studies have surveyed the CRO, CDMO, excipient and equipment supplier landscape, starting for the first time in 2011, and continuing up until this year and into the next. In 2017, these surveys will be expanded to include Private Equity/Venture Capital, Clinical Supply Chain and Intermediates. 

Every Nice Insight Study is designed to develop the sector’s perceptions of market, sales and competitive trends measured via both a Customer Awareness (CA) and Customer Perception (CP) score. These scores, generated through the direct responses of survey participants, indicate the level at which polled companies are known in the market, and if they are known, how they are perceived. This can be used as a measure of market standing, specifically when comparing competitive brands against one another.

Through the launch of each survey, Nice Insight aims to create a panoramic view of the pharmaceutical market, considered from all sides, and using actionable customer insights to inform the most accurate analysis available. By taking each perspective into account, we are stringing together an informed gestalt, capable of tapping into trends as they are created. For a glimpse into the upcoming studies in 2017, please refer to our guide below, as we await next year’s glittering insights! 

CRO — Preclinical, Contract and Clinical Research Organizations

Respondents to the 2017 Nice Insight CRO Survey will generate perception data on 74 out of 125 leading contract research organizations. CROs are evaluated under three primary service categories, including research, preclinical and clinical offerings. Under research, respondents will be asked to indicate their interest in surgical, process chemistry, regulatory and in vitro assay services, for example. Similarly under the preclinical category, the study explores specifying habits for general toxicology, bioanalytical testing, particle characterization, chemistry stability testing and other analytical services across small- and large-molecule product development. Under the clinical category, the 2017 CRO Survey investigates the complex operational/logistical segments of clinical trial design, monitoring, data capture, recruiting, PK, PD and pharmacovigilance services.

www.niceinsightcro.com

CDMO — Contract Development & Manufacturing Organizations

Nice Insight’s Contract Development & Manufacturing Survey will comprehensively profile 164 out of 316 of the industry’s most prominent organizations. These organizations are selected by criteria that consider both the company’s active status in the market and their minimum annual sales, which must equal at least $20 million in order to be included.

The 2017 CDMO Outsourcing Survey will be deployed to an international pool of more than 500 key, qualified industry influencers and decision makers, selected based on title, organizational role and department, as well as their influence on the selection and contracting of development and manufacturing service providers. These companies will be scored across a number of key categories, including primary drug substance and drug product operations; laboratory and specialized services, like lyophilization; and HPAPI handling. Subcategories of CDMOs’ operational capabilities include small- and large-molecule drug substance API manufacture, blow-fill-finish, and aseptic fill and finish. The upcoming survey also prompts respondents to gauge their perceptions of a broad range of CDMO technical and operational capabilities, including biomanufacturing, clinical- and commercial-scale manufacturing across OSD, parenteral, combined and semi-solid products, plus primary and secondary packaging operations.

www.niceinsightcdmo.com

Pharmaceutical Excipients Suppliers

Covering a list of 39 top excipient suppliers, participants in the 2017 Excipient Study will indicate their perceptions of the industry’s prominent suppliers. Primary excipient product categories will include anti-adherents, solubilizers, thickeners, diluents/fillers, binders, disintegrants, glidants, lubricants, coatings and coloring agents.

www.niceinsightexcipients.com

Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM)

For 2017, Nice Insight will survey a minimum of 500 respondents to evaluate equipment vendors based on process integrity, customer service, total cost of operations (TCO), overall equipment efficiency (OEE), post-sales support and reliability. Respondents will be asked about purchasing, specifying plans and projections across two primary manufacturing processing categories: OSD tablets/capsules and sterile (primarily liquid) forms. The study will also examine processing equipment (machines and accessories), as well as packaging (primary and secondary) under both the OSD and sterile categories. Bioprocessing associated with sterile processing is also covered, as are the equipment and machines required to conduct operations (including primary and secondary packaging).

www.niceinsightpharmaequipment.com

Clinical Supply Chain Logistics

As we move toward 2017 and beyond, one tendency almost guaranteed to remain the same is pharma’s growing reliance on its supply chain to deliver the therapeutic value of its products. With the increasing number of clinical studies occurring globally, there has been a growing amount of emphasis on better understanding the character and dynamics of clinical trial logistics. To address these questions, Nice Insight will survey industry respondents to understand the key aspects of the clinical supply chain, as well as trends associated with the different levels of partner engagement.

www.niceinsightlogistics.com (01/01/2017) 

Pharmaceutical Intermediates Suppliers

Pharmaceutical Formulation Intermediates, or PFI, are the powdered materials excipients — and active ingredients (APIs) — compressed and mixed together to make pills and tablets. This sector of the pharma supply chain has a primary role in pharmaceutical production. The 2017 Nice Insight Intermediates Survey will explore the purchasing and specifying trends of this critical aspect of the supply chain. Intermediates Survey participants will be asked to indicate their perceptions of the industry’s prominent suppliers and primary intermediate product categories, including chemical and pharmaceutical intermediates.

www.niceinsightIntermediates.com (01/01/2017)

Private Equity/Venture Capital Companies

Respondents to Nice Insight’s 2017 Private Equity and Venture Capital Survey will be generated from a pool of financial executives who are actively involved in the valuation and private equity/venture capital investment within the life sciences space. The PE/VC sector plays a pivotal role in innovation, providing early-, middle- and late-stage financing to drug development. For example, the biotechnology sector’s ascendance can, to a large degree, be attributed to the vision and willingness of the PE/VC markets to fund the hundreds of biologics-related startups. The study will work to reveal recent trends in investments, exit strategy and company valuation.

www.niceinsightPEVC.com (01/01/2017)

Best information, Better Decisions

Nice Insight’s study portfolio for 2017 is designed to shed new light onto the pharma industry and its partners, supply chain and otherwise.

Nice Insight 2017

• CRO – 124 Profiles (73 Deep Dive)
• CDMO – 313 Profiles (163 Deep Dive)
• Excipients – 39 Profiles (31 Deep Dive)
• OEM Equipment – 128 Profiles (81 Deep Dive)
• Supply Chain Logistics – 21 Profiles (21 Deep Dive)
• Pharmaceutical Intermediates – 87 Profiles (48 Deep Dive)
• Private Equity/Venture Capital – 136 Profiles