BIOLOGY
Drug Discovery Technology Is Next Offshore Service Trend
An emerging services sector in India is poised to capture a new wave of offshore contracts from the US pharmaceutical, biotech, and life sciences technology industries, according to a report published today by Genomic Society Consulting. "Known worldwide for sophisticated IT services, and lately for a biotechnology boom that is moving from copycat drugs into R&D, India is well-positioned to merge the talent of these two industries into a service sector that meets the needs of the global drug discovery industry," says report author Adrienne Burke. "Our research reveals that salaries for skilled professionals and PhDs in this sector are as much as 90 percent lower in India than the US, so cost savings can be significant. As our case studies reveal, however, these offshore arrangements have shortcomings. They are not for every company or just any project. This in-depth research will help organizations weigh the pros and cons of retaining Indian providers for bio-IT services." India's Emerging Life Science IT Services Sector: Opportunities for Outsourcing, Partnership and Investment, is based on two months of on-site research and reporting in India and follow-up interviews in the US. The document is designed to inform drug discovery research managers, life science technology developers, and investors about India's burgeoning bio-IT industry and about the successes, failures, and costs saved by the pioneering North American companies that have already explored this offshore territory. The 95-page report features case studies describing existing relationships between Indian service providers and their US biopharma and life science technology customers, in-depth analysis of the sector, and detailed profiles of 27 Indian groups that offer bio-IT services -- from software giants, to biotech contract research centers, to bioinformatics companies. Profiles include revenue data, reference customer names, top management background, and contact information. The report can be ordered at http://www.genomicsociety.com/. An Executive Summary and Table of Contents are available from the site for free.