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Research & Development

Helping clients build the R&D capabilities needed to drive innovation, improve productivity and performance, and develop successful portfolio and asset strategies.

What we do

Our R&D clients include major pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, biotechs, and clinical research organizations. Our work, which spans all major therapeutic areas, focuses on:

Driving innovation

We can help transform a company's corporate culture and R&D infrastructure to meet changing industry needs, or support efforts to attract, motivate, and mobilize the best talent. We use our insights to help companies develop innovative products that offer substantial benefits over existing therapies, allowing them to overcome hurdles to regulatory approval and payor reimbursement.

Improving productivity and performance

We have multiple strategies for enhancing client's productivity and performance. For instance, we can help them access new technologies and innovation through various R&D financing and partnership models that minimize cost and risk. We also facilitate approval and reduce development timelines and costs by helping design clinical strategies that maximize the chance for a successful approval with the best possible label. Our efforts often involve assisting companies with organizational issues (e.g., helping them determine the most efficient structure post-merger, etc.). Since we understand the changing vendor landscape and we offer global reach and expertise, we can also assist companies in identifying the right outsourcing/off-shoring opportunities and in capturing greater value from emerging markets.

Developing successful portfolio and asset strategies

For resource allocation, we help clients allocate their clinical research budgets and focus on the most promising products. With existing drugs and devices, we show clients which therapy areas, diseases, or products should receive priority. Most importantly, we apply novel approaches to maximize the value creation potential of each individual pipeline asset. For instance, we can help clients identify compounds that will provide more value in established markets or generate demand in rapidly growing emerging markets. We also help clients identify and execute business development opportunities, including in- and out-licensing deals, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and innovative multi-party transactions that improve productivity.

Optimizing medical and regulatory affairs organization and strategy

We help Medical and Regulatory Affairs divisions to implement best practice organizational set-ups and build the capabilities required to meet the expectations of external shareholders. We also support clients in their pursuit of product safety and clinical quality excellence.

Forging connections

We regularly convene industry conferences on R&D issues. A few examples:

  • The Medical Affairs Leadership Academy, a 'field and forum' programme that aims to heighten the business and leadership capabilities of Medical Affairs divisions in our clients
  • The R&D Leadership Development Forum, which helps rising executives at pharmaceutical and biotech companies network and share their perspectives
  • Semi-annual CMC Forums, which include annual benchmarking and knowledge sharing on priority topics, attended by leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies
  • We also frequently give R&D presentations at investor meetings and conferences including the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting and Citi's Global Healthcare Conference and have published in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery on topics including R&D productivity, trends in clinical trial success rates, and sourcing pharmaceutical innovation

Featured experts

Michael Steinmann

Managing Partner Switzerland, Zurich

Jeffrey Algazy

Senior Partner, New Jersey

Lucy Pérez

Senior Partner, Boston

Featured Insights

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