Breaking up ‘the outsourcing dance’: Life sciences leadership firm to tackle industry issues
Brenda Reese, BSN, RN, founder and president, phaseUP, said the company helps pharma, biotechs, and contract research organizations (CROs) “cultivate collaborative, high performing clinical development program teams and leaders.”
Currently, the company offers four services, including team development, engagement and retention, coaching, in addition to its ‘First90Days’ offering – which Reese said is the most important program.
“The first 90 days are critical in any clinical development program, especially in an outsourcing partnership,” said Reese, who has more than 20 years of experience across the industry.
The program uses what Reese described as a ‘transparent and co-active’ coaching style “to lay the foundation for a high performing team across the outsourcing partnership before the kickoff meeting.”
As she explained, the company aims to address two of the industry’s most expensive and frustrating issues: Outsourcing and turnover.
“I want to break up the outsourcing dance our industry has been doing for years. We’ve all seen it – a biotech or pharma selects a CRO, decides the CRO isn’t a good fit, replaces the project manager and/or project oversight director, replaces the CRO, or doesn’t replace CRO,” Reese told us.
Recycling the same project directors, oversight directors and CRAs, this ‘turnover madness’ costs the industry millions of dollars per year, she explained.
“These people don’t quit their jobs because of money,” she added. “They quit because they’re burned out, their managers don’t have time for them, and they feel overworked and underappreciated.”
phaseUP will provide coaching at the senior executive level, but also for the directors and managers leading the overall team.
“Our industry needs to understand that even with the most advanced eClinical technologies, the success or failure of a clinical development program depends on its people,” said Reese. “Building cohesive, collaborative teams can mean the difference between success and failure.”
