Functional Service Partnerships: A Case Study for CRO Resource Management
Timothy King
A review of a recent FSP in which the CRO partner assumed clinical monitoring and site support responsibility for more than 50 ongoing trials.
Through its dedicated business unit, PPD® FSP, PPD has been involved in bespoke functional service partnerships (FSP) for more than 20 years, ranging from the very small, single protocol or product projects, to very large global projects spanning functions from lab programs through postmarketing safety and regulatory support.
This article reviews a recent FSP in which the client required PPD to assume clinical monitoring and site support responsibility for more than 50 ongoing clinical trials across 45 countries, and launch new studies, while simultaneously reducing the client’s annual operational spend by more than 20%.
Following the initial award, the client then requested that PPD implement the model a second time for a different business unit that operates in a very different clinical environment, with a separate management structure and unique workforce. PPD’s solutions included:
- Ensuring the smooth transition of ongoing clinical trials from the client to PPD and successful new study launches and execution
- Reducing the number of countries where our clients maintained operational staff and facilities
- Transferring and rehiring staff from the client to PPD, colloquially known as “rebadging,” thereby reducing or avoiding the redundancies or layoffs often associated with large-scale process improvement or reorganization efforts