Upping Their Game: CROs Must Develop A New Mindset To Partner With Sponsors

By Mark Scullion

Today, sponsor companies engage Clinical Research Organizations (CROs) on several different levels: to handle specific responsibilities on a trial-by-trial basis, to manage an entire program or trial, or to perform an entire function. In all cases, whether the relationship is transactional or strategic, sponsors are expecting more input from their CRO partners. CROs should be able to provide both operational and scientific recommendations that add value and ultimately advance outcomes. Especially in the highest-order relationships—aligned partnerships marked by long-term deals and shared goals—CROs must demonstrate an understanding of how to add value, what constitutes success, and what risks they may encounter. In short, they must approach their role with a new notion of what it is to be a partner.