Contract Horror Story: Confessions Of A Rogue Contractor

By Ed Miseta, Chief Editor, Clinical Leader

It was the wrong thing to do. I know that now. In fact, I knew it back then as well. But we all know in this industry that margins can be razor thin, and sometimes this will tempt you to do things that might otherwise cause you to think twice. By now you’re probably wondering what I’m talking about. Let me back up a little.

Call me John Doe. I am the VP of business development for XYZ Pharmaceutical Services. A year ago a customer came to me requesting a quote on a job. When we submitted our proposal and price, we were informed that one of our large competitors came in at a lower price. If we wanted the contract, we would have to beat their price. I knew producing the product in our labs would not be possible at that price. But I also knew of labs overseas that could do it at a much lower cost. So I did the unthinkable. I quoted the sponsor a lower price, told them we would produce it in our labs, and then outsourced it to Asia. The contract firm was now doing the contracting. What could possibly go wrong?