How Collaborative Value Engineering And Continuous Improvement Enhance The CDMO Relationship

By Adam Hopper, Cambrex

The search for vaccines and treatments throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with the backlog of non-COVID therapies that piled up during the pandemic’s initial months, has driven a surge in demand for contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) production capacity. As CDMOs have transformed to meet that need — adding new facilities and equipment, as well as introducing operational strategies to overcome burdens related to the pandemic — the challenge for commercial pharmaceutical companies has evolved from simply finding a CDMO partner with adequate capacity.

Commercial pharma companies require a CDMO partner focused on continuous improvement and value engineering to maintain viable margins: cost structure and supply chain risk mitigation, as well as overall product portfolio management. This need is particularly pressing for pharma companies operating in the generics or branded over-the-counter (OTC) spaces, since extending the product life cycle depends on lowering costs in response to competition-driven price pressure. To this end, a collaborative partnership model is effective in optimizing profitability management and product life cycles.

Cambrex leverages several strategies to value engineer processes surrounding existing commercial products. We start by assembling a dedicated, cross-functional team touching on all impactful areas, including quality, regulatory, process engineering, and procurement. That team identifies opportunities to create value and presents its findings to the client (be it a similar cross-functional team or a project management team). Then, both parties align on priorities and present their findings, as well as proposed solutions, to their corresponding senior leadership on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual basis. Based on that information, leadership at both Cambrex and the client can approve an aligned, regularly updated strategy that considers changing priorities and upcoming milestones.