When embarking on a clinical trial outsourcing process, sponsor companies will often simply engage those organizations they’ve worked with before. In particular when it comes to selecting a CRO, there is often an established relationship – such as preferred supplier status – that results in working with the same CROs time and time again.

For selecting patient recruitment vendors, sponsors will often either leave it in the hands of their CRO, or again will choose organizations they are familiar with.

And especially in the case of big pharma companies, the vendor qualification process is such that many patient recruitment vendors are wary of spending much time on a project if they aren’t already on the qualified vendor list.

I have noticed a shift in attitude recently, though, toward exploring options outside the embedded relationships – perhaps driven by the rise in the number of biotech companies – which I believe can only be a good thing for the industry.