Pharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs Teams Buck Trend of Budget Cuts

Drug companies more likely to cut sales forces or research & development budgets, but regulatory affairs budgets increase, according to Cutting Edge Information

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A new study finds that despite budget cuts in pharmaceutical companies as a result of the “Great Recession,” regulatory affairs teams have experienced a consistent increase in their budgets since 2006. These increases come in the face of continued economic hardship throughout the industry.

“Regulatory Affairs: Safeguarding Submission Success and Product Development Strategy”

The growing prominence of regulatory affairs teams is demonstrated by the budget numbers presented in Cutting Edge Information’s study, “Regulatory Affairs: Safeguarding Submission Success and Product Development Strategy,” which shows that spending on regulatory affairs groups increased among all sizes of pharmaceutical companies. The most significant percentage increases took place in the smaller companies where budgets increased by nearly 50%.

“This type of sizeable budgetary increase reflects the high value that the industry is placing on navigating a complicated, global regulatory landscape,” said Ryan McGuire, research team leader at Cutting Edge Information. “For example, Top 20 Pharma companies’ regulatory affairs teams experienced average budget growth upwards of $5 million, which is a pretty significant increase for any department.”

Drug companies are looking for experienced workers in the regulatory affairs field and are willing to pay a premium for them. Cutting Edge Information found that small companies that wouldn’t have pursued a global drug launch previously are now entering the global market. As a result, those companies place a greater priority on understanding the dynamic regulatory climate around the world.

“Regulatory Affairs: Safeguarding Submission Success and Product Development Strategy” (http://www.cuttingedgeinfo.com/research/regulatory/market-approval/) provides in-depth spending, staffing and timeline benchmarks, as well as case studies, to support and strengthen regulatory affairs teams. The report supports key goals identified by benchmark partners:

• Boost team productivity by attracting and retaining top talent.
• Stay competitive with year-over-year budget benchmarks and projections.
• Manage the impact of globalization by implementing processes and best practices to quickly adapt to changing regulations.

For more information about regulatory affairs, compliance and effective submission processes and strategies, contact Cassie Demeter at 919-403-6583.