Analysis on Outsourcing of Pharmacovigilance Services Market

Introduction

Pharmacovigilance can also be termed as a drug safety vigilance service, which involves detection, collection, monitoring, assessment and prevention of adverse side effects from using pharmaceutical products. Most drug approvals across the globe are guided by the inputs from pharmacovigilance services, which are heavily concerned with drug aberrations and medication errors such as drug abuse, overdose and misuse of drugs in given circumstances. However, pharmacovigilance services are highly expensive and require skilled resource. Furthermore, mandatory legal obligations, additional cost implications and fluctuation in the growth of the global pharmaceutical market have compelled pharmaceutical companies to remodel their strategies. 

Why do Companies look to Outsource Pharmacovigilance Services?

In recent years, a rise in outsourcing of pharmacovigilance services has been noticed; drug manufacturers are reinventing business models to sustain the ever growing pressure. Likewise, mergers and collaboration with overseas companies for outsourcing of life science studies and pharmaceutical product manufacturing has become a successful market strategy. In addition, both small and big pharmaceutical companies are following such business patterns, as companies of all sizes can benefit from outsourcing pharmacovigilance activities.

For big player operating in the market, outsourcing of pharmacovigilance activity means saving expenses on additional team hiring. The importance of an outsourcing partnership essentially depends on the requirement and size of the pharmaceutical company. Big or small cost saving can create a huge difference to the company’s yearly turnover. Outsourcing allows instance access to skilled professionals, reducing or eliminating the prerequisites of hiring, training and retaining them. This indeed results in a fair margin of cost reduction and allows the internal team to focus entirely on the core projects.  

Leverage the quality of existing system--the standard operating procedures followed by large manufacturers are accessible by third party vendors for quick program initiation according to client specifications. Thus, these vendors act as extended branch of major manufacturing companies. Moreover, vendors duly complement other subsets of activities such as safety writing, case processing and content screening.

Similarly, small companies also gain from outsourcing pharmacovigilance activities. Outsourcing for them means a temporary extension of their skilled resource.  Further, cooperation from vendors can reduce additional energy spent on developing of procedures and systems from scratch. In most occasions, these systems are flexible enough to adapt to the company’s business structure. Such partnerships allow the vendor to build compliant and practical operation systems to meet the requirements of the sponsor.

Helping the Overall Market to Grow

While outsourcing of pharmacovigilance services significantly reduces the overall cost of operations, it enhances process efficiency. Outsourcing of pharmacovigilance services to offshore locations, especially to emerging economies where the cost of hiring resource is much lower compared to developed economies. Thereby, pharma companies are more reluctant on hiring offshore base third-party pharmacovigilance service providing vendors as they offer experienced and proficient workforce.

Trends such as changing demography in both emerging markets and Western markets is expected to influence the global pharmacovigilance service market in the near future. Furthermore, factors such as risk of safety issues, stringent safety regulations and increasing volume of post-market incidents going under scrutiny are compelling pharmaceutical companies to opt for external outsourcing services for drug monitoring.

Conclusion

The global pharmacovigilance market was valued at US$ 2,759.1 Million and is expected to surpass US$ 6,104 Million by 2020 end.  Stiff competition and market fluctuation are expected to boost outsourcing of pharmacovigilance service in the near future. North America is a major market for pharmacovigilance owing to the presence of established pharmaceutical companies in the region. Instant patient reporting and strict inspection systems are fueling the demand for resourceful pharmacovigilance amongst drug makers.