Five Signs You’re Paying Too Much for Pharma Consulting Support

When you are in the business of saving millions of lives each year, it’s no surprise that healthcare entities leverage external consultative support to help make critical decisions. By the end of 2024, total spend for global consulting services by pharma companies, insurers, hospitals and government organizations is expected to reach $16.2 billion. By 2032, that number is expected to reach $30.6 billion globally.

While healthcare consulting support is delivered within many important categories including financial management, information technology and HR Management, it is strategic management support—specifically provided to pharma companies—whose outcomes capture the most attention from medical communities, patients and Wall Street.

But how much return are pharma companies getting from their strategic consulting spend?

Pharma Strategic Consulting Support Is Critical, But How Much Is Too Much?

Pharma companies have the highest share (28%) of total spend ($7.9 billion) for strategic consulting support by all healthcare players, including insurers. Operating in a highly competitive and heavily regulated industry, it is understandable why pharma companies rely heavily on strategic consulting support throughout their product development lifecycle. It could take years from early-stage product development and years more through to clinical trials and regulatory approvals.

And the stakes are high. There is only about a 0.1% chance that the initial drug candidate will ever reach blockbuster status, according to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The investment in strategic consulting support to develop a blueprint for a successful product development and launch mitigates risk. At least that is the belief.

Expectations of traditional strategic consulting support often include hiring a highly specialized senior consultant with expertise to impart thought leadership, develop high-level pharma strategies, lead a project team and advise senior client leadership on critical business decisions.

The reality, however, is often quite different. A recent survey reported 76% of senior-level pharma industry leaders turn to strategic consulting firms for “business insights and data analytics.” Top strategy consulting firms often charge thousands of dollars per hour. While there are certainly occasions for full-scale, specialized senior consultative advice, the survey results call into question whether pharma companies are receiving real value and actionable insights for their consultative dollars.

If industry leaders were honest with themselves, they would also recognize a fair amount of strategic consulting support is retained simply out of habit. Pharma leaders often go with strategies that worked the last time. This behavior could lead to diminished value and low ROI from consulting engagements because the scope of work may not require the level of senior industry expertise that they pay for.

An Alternative to Full-Scale Strategic Consulting Support for Pharma and Life Sciences

Implementation Consultants is an alternative solution when senior consultancy isn’t required but real horsepower to drive valuable insights and support day-to-day operational tasks is. Escalent has been advising global brands and top-tier strategy consulting firms for decades, and we saw a need to provide high-value support without an advisory layer. Our consultants function as an extension of your team, with the ability to work in your ecosystem short-term or long-term. They deliver the right level of life sciences experience appropriate for the project at hand, protecting project value from the very start.

5 Questions to Assess the Right Level of Consulting Support

Life sciences needs vary in size and complexity. Determining whether a project warrants full-scale, senior-level consultative support often depends on several factors, so we created the following list to help you determine if Implementation Consultants might be a good solution for you:

1. Does your internal team possess sufficient industry experience but require consultative tactical support to develop and implement strategic plans?
2. Are you seeking advisory recommendations from external consultants when you only need strategic insights and marketplace intelligence to make better informed decisions?
3. Could you and your team use more time to focus on core responsibilities with help from project and operations managers with life sciences expertise?
4. Is it safe to assume that budget uncertainties are almost always on the table when you seek support from traditional strategic consulting firms?
5. Are you expected to deliver thoughtful projects in a tight time frame?

Did you answer “yes” to any (or all) of these questions? If so, then before you engage traditional, full-service strategic consulting support for your next project, take a minute to consider paying only for the support you need.

Want to learn more? Let’s connect.