Against a backdrop of rapid innovation, the pharmaceutical services industry is undergoing a wave of consolidation that is fundamentally reshaping competitive dynamics and creating threats and opportunities for clinical technology providers and contract research organizations (CROs).
A recent example is Thermo Fisher Scientific’s acquisition of Clario Holdings, an electronic endpoint data and clinical outcome assessment (eCOA) solutions provider. According to GlobalData-owned Deals Intelligence, the transaction could rank as the fifth-largest acquisition in the pharmaceutical industry this year, underscoring a trend of accelerated consolidation that shows no signs of slowing.
Understanding how consolidation can impact existing relationships and which companies work together creates competitive opportunities and determines who captures market share. The companies that thrive in this landscape are those that have real-time information on competitive positioning and sponsor preferences, allowing them to act decisively when opportunities present themselves.
For CRO and clinical technology providers navigating an increasingly competitive market, acquisitions like the recent deal with Thermo Fisher raise critical strategic questions: Who’s next? And more importantly, how should providers position themselves in this rapidly consolidating landscape?
The acquisition of Thermo Fisher Scientific-Clario creates a formidable integrated offering; The company already owns PPD, one of the largest CROs in the world, and now adds Clario’s digital terminal platform. This vertical integration provides Thermo Fisher with end-to-end support across the clinical trial value chain, from trial design and execution through PPD to sophisticated data capture and analysis with Clario.
Naturally, this begs the question: will other life sciences conglomerates follow suit? Danaher, McKesson, and even diagnostic giants like Quest and Labcorp may see independent eCOA vendors as attractive targets for creating comparable integrated offerings. The reasoning is compelling: As clinical trials become increasingly decentralized and data-intensive, controlling both trial execution (with a CRO) and digital infrastructure (such as eCOA and endpoint data) offers significant competitive advantages.
GlobalData’s proprietary clinical data indicates that PPD has been the CRO of choice in 9.6% of Clario’s clinical trials business, making it Clario’s largest CRO partner. It is followed by Labcorp Drug Development with 9.2%, IQVIA with 8.5% and ICON with 8.2% as CRO in clinical trials in which Clario has been a supplier.
These CROs now face a strategic dilemma. Will you continue to purchase eCOA services from a competing affiliate? History suggests they may look to alternative suppliers or make their own purchases to stay competitive. This creates immediate opportunities for competing eCOA providers to position themselves as independent, conflict-free alternatives to pharmaceutical sponsors and CROs concerned about fueling their competitors’ revenue streams.
For clinical technology providers, timing is everything. According to GlobalData’s proprietary clinical trial intelligence, Clario’s most engaged sponsor customers include Merck & Co, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Sanofi and many other major players. These relationships represent years of integration, workflow optimization, and institutional knowledge. However, acquisition-driven transitions invariably create uncertainty, which can be seen as an opportunity for other suppliers.
GlobalData’s Sales Intelligence platform tracks which pharmaceutical companies and CROs work with which specific clinical providers and includes estimated spend and outsourcing frequency, intelligence that becomes critically valuable during market disruptions and takeovers.
Major deals also drive the need for greater innovation and differentiation across the industry. GlobalData’s recent survey of 126 clinical trial executives (spanning both biopharmaceutical sponsors and clinical service providers) reveals a striking disconnect between what providers believe matters and what sponsors actually prioritize.
eCOA vendors surveyed cited “identifying potential vendors” as what they believed to be the sponsor’s biggest pain point during eCOA, eConsent, and ePRO vendor screening. Still not one The biopharmaceutical company in our survey cited supplier identification as an issue.
In contrast, biopharmaceutical companies most frequently cited “lack of desired features or integrations” as a weakness during eCOA vendor evaluation. This was followed by “technical cost of implementing a new system” as the second most cited problem they experienced during supplier evaluation.
This disconnect runs deep: Providers focus on improving visibility, while sponsors struggle with capability gaps and implementation frictions.
When asked to rate which factors are most important when evaluating an eCOA, eConsent, or ePRO system on a scale of 1 to 10, sponsors consistently gave highest importance ratings (10/10) to:
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Regulatory Compliance: Nearly Universal 10/10 Ratings from Sponsors
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Device flexibility: importance scores predominantly 10/10
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Patient usability: 74% of sponsors rated this as most important (10/10)
Perhaps the most telling fact was that sponsors cited both “too many providers to compare” and “too few differentiators” as frustrations, suggesting that the market needs better evaluation frameworks and clearer differentiation, not more undifferentiated options.
Recent acquisition announcements in this sector exemplify why market intelligence is important. Gaining a real-time understanding of unfolding events, affected businesses, and decision criteria that are important to sponsors is a strategic advantage.
GlobalData’s Sales Intelligence solution provides exactly this visibility: detailed data on which suppliers serve which pharmaceutical companies and CROs, enabling precise targeting and positioning. GlobalData’s ongoing primary research in the fields of technology and clinical outsourcing also provides surface insights that shape winning strategies.
As the industry continues to consolidate, the winners will be those who can identify opportunities quickly and understand buyer priorities deeply enough to significantly differentiate themselves.
Amanda Murphy is Senior Director of Digital Product Management at GlobalData. To learn how GlobalData’s Sales Intelligence solution can help you capitalize on market opportunities and book a demo, Click here.
“Real-Time Data: Gaining an Edge Amid Clinical Services Consolidation” was originally created and published by Pharmaceutical Technology, a brand owned by GlobalData.
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