In the new fast-paced world, with unlimited access to information and technology, it gets overwhelming for various companies, be it an established goliath or a new start-up, to take important decisions. It often leads to confusion and dilemmas causing delays in operations, financial losses, fiscal deficits, and other unwanted or unproductive business moves. However, to escape from all of the business-related woes, companies seek shelter under the wings of consulting services. 

For a few decades now to ease out the process of decision making, companies have opted for consulting services from Subject matter experts (SMEs) and KOLs who are people or groups of individuals with expertise in the relevant field in exchange for a fee. Today, not a single industry remains where consulting services have not offered to help. In the financial domain, the chemical sector, the automobile, and so on, almost every domain consultant are helping with business strategies, management, organization, operational processes, HR, financial advisory, and technology. Leading successful consulting firms including Deloitte (audit & insurance, tax & accounting, risk advisory, and consulting), Accenture (Strategy, Digital, Technology, and Consulting), PWC (global professional services network with expertise in tax & accounting, audit & risk, and consulting), Bain and Company (private equity consulting), and others. 

In a nutshell, Consultants can be considered as fixers, serving as troubleshooters. Especially in the field of Pharmaceutical & Life Sciences, a company’s all-around product life-cycle stages, which consist of planning, designing, constructing, product testing, and commissioning processes are provided by a Pharma Consultant. 

Pharma Consultant

Pharmaceutical Consultancy can provide assistance to client organizations specifically in biotechnology, life science, and other healthcare fields. From discovery to development and production of any biological product, aid in decision making is given by Pharma Consultants. A group of experts specialized in the field of pharmacology deals with clinical/non-clinical testing, biologic design and manufacturing, regulatory agency interactions, submission preparation, and so on. 

Pharma Consultants can also help bring new life to healthcare, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical organizations that are stuck, or shift resources to help companies grow or move in a different direction. They work with a goal to improve the efficiency of healthcare, reducing costs, increasing revenue, and recommending new procedures are some of the tasks required of a healthcare consultant. Risk management, nonprofit and human services, health insurance, medical facilities, pharmaceuticals, and wellness and fitness are some common industries that hire for this type of role.

There are several challenges faced by any company entering or persisting in the market, few of which are managerial, statistical, financial, and analytical decisions to be made by a client organization for which they would require people possessing more knowledge in the specified field that can serve as an advantage. Overall, when an organization deals with any kind of issue in various operations, a consultant or a consultancy firm will provide support in resolving it. Consultants are pretty easy on doing the ‘dirty work’, i.e. taking the decisions no one from the client organization internally wants to take.

A group of individuals, organizations are hired to work externally from the client organization are called External Consultancy. The expertise provided here comes under a charged fee as a part of the contract which is comparatively inexpensive. They are also independent of the client organization leading to a clearer perspective of issues and an objective viewpoint on dilemmas. Because consultants mainly operate externally, they are less susceptible in regard to internal politics and/or sensitive situations

When the employment and operation of consultancy is performed inside an organization, it is known as Internal Consultancy. Here specific individuals or groups of experts are hired to work as a part of internal consultancy units. Although highly professional and qualified people are selected, few issues that can arise in this structure are due to dependency on client organization, there can be a conflict of interest also, in-house expertise can come off as a very costly service. 

Need of Pharma Consultant

Pharma Consultants come up with various business strategies, technical or non-technical, management of quality control & testing,  identifying relevant supplies and equipment, drug – design & development, and regulation of clinical trials. Another task for Pharma Consultants is Pharmacovigilance that is relatable to the collection, detection, assessment, monitoring, and prevention of adverse effects with biologicals, they also work in the area of resolving contamination issues.

Pharma Consultancy Modus Operandi

A pharmaceutical consultant provides companies with expert advice on pharmaceutical development and sales. Pharmaceutical consultants use their knowledge of biotechnology, medicine, and business to help pharmaceutical companies develop drugs and manage data about clinical outcomes. They can ensure that roles, deliverables, and the timeline within a project are clearly defined. Different areas where Pharma Consultancies provide aid are: 

Business Development 

Business Development for any sector is done in order to procure sales providing customers with new and beneficial products. Moreover, in a pharma-based industry where new inventions are occurring on a daily basis for a medicinal drug or treatment device, the competition sees no limits. Pharma Consultants help maintain the company, a Robust Pipeline and Ensure the launch of the right product at the right time. They have to deal with the internal & external challenges and bring out the best.

Technology-Based Strategies

With all the advancements in new technologies helping every sector, why should a pharmaceutical business stay behind, which ascends to a Pharma Consultant’s application of recent technological innovations in the pharma sector. Globalization, increasing competition, productivity, shorter product-cycle time are challenges faced by the industry. So, Pharma Consultants can enable a pharmaceutical company to deal with these challenges by reaching more consumers and suppliers, receiving instant feedback at a cheaper cost. 

Partnerships, Mergers And Acquisitions

Partnerships are considered a daily occurrence in the pharmaceutical industry. Whenever there’s a great business deal, it is because of the involvement of 2 or more compatible companies who can mutually benefit from one another. Pharma Consultants look for a real sustainable merger opportunity where resources can be combined leading to increased market share, influence, and value. Pharma Consultancy captures the value of a good deal and creates a strategy that incorporates post-merger management issues, such as effectively integrating workplace cultures and systems.

Regulatory Affairs

Pharma Consultants rectify any issues that arise during the registration process. With respect to the pharma sector, the US FDA oversees all the regulatory activities happening around the globe. Here, Pharma Consultants keep in check the Quality Control & Assessment of any biological production, and it should be aligned with the regulatory guidelines of the FDA. Pharma Consultant also deals with regulatory submission where any pharma’s newly developed product information and details are provided for a regulatory review and regulatory compliance where pharma companies across the globe are compelled to alter their compliance practices to conform to changes in regulations and stringent anti-corruption laws.

Market Assessment & Operational Sales

Identifying the target market by observing the growth potential and then correctly placing a product into the market, is what a Pharma Consultant’s regular job is. They chalk out an operative Marketing & Sales strategy with regard to a Pharma’s growth & profitability. In such a turbulent market, forecasted assessment and strategies can provide much-needed assistance

New Product & Pipeline Assessment 

A new product shall open to an entirely new market. This opportunity is sought by a Pharma Consultant, dealing with the company’s resources, capabilities, and strengths. A collective R&D is done in order to develop a new product and be prepared for any challenge that can occur during the production process. To remain valid in the market, pharma companies should be able to provide high-quality and differentiated products in the market. 

It is widely known that the pipeline holds immense value and future prospects for a company. The more compounds in the pipeline, the bigger is the worth of a company. Pharma Consultants deal with processes like checking the effectiveness of drugs as well as the likelihood of toxic events; assessing this risk and filtering out the compounds that may not eventually get approved so as to reduce the effort.

Just like every other industry in the market, the pharmaceutical sector is also looking forward to new innovations with cutting-edge ideas, converting them to implementable business models and processes, which will help them to remain competitive in the globalized marketplace. A new economic environment is demanding change in the Pharmaceutical Industry, that requires assistance in order to take several necessary decisions. Pharma Consultancy support and guidance can be considered as an asset to Healthcare.

Pharma Consultancy is an uprising for product development in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and device fields. From general supervision of all phases of pharmaceutical operations to production, quality control, selection of medicines, quantification, importation, storage/stock management, and distribution, Pharma Consultants have keen sight and deep knowledge in every aspect. They will always serve as an aid in achieving goals set by Pharmaceutical companies.

It is correctly said, with the combination of correct skills a scientific theory can be converted into a business win.