Cloud ERP Fine-Tuned for Pre-Revenue Pharma & Biotech Companies

Introduction

Pre-revenue pharmaceutical organizations play a high-stakes game with little room for error and no second chances given to companies that don’t hit the mark on their first time out. Once a promising new drug or therapy is ready for clinical trials, these organizations must quickly shift from research and development (R&D) over to testing and commercialization—a pivot that’s difficult to make using basic software systems and spreadsheets.

Having the right business process in place from the start is crucial for pharma, bioscience, gene, and cell therapy developers, and that includes an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution that’s been fine-tuned for the industry and battle-tested by dozens of pre-revenue pharma companies.

In this white paper, we explore the typical issues that pre-revenue pharma, biotech, gene therapy, and cell therapy companies face when implementing ERP and show the value a solution that’s pre- built for the industry—and an implementation partner that knows that industry inside and out— provides fast-growing companies.

A Laser-Focus on Pre-Revenue Pharma

Startup companies generally take on any new customer that crosses their threshold, knowing that over time they’ll be able to hone their market approaches and work only with clients who truly need their products or services (and who are willing to pay for those offerings). The founders of AdaptaLogix took a different tack, instead putting a laser-like focus on the unique technology needs of pre-revenue pharmaceutical, biotech, gene therapy, and cell therapy organizations.

Responsible for the research, development, production, and distribution of medications, the pharmaceutical industry has experienced significant growth over the past two decades, with pharma revenues worldwide totaling $1.25 trillion in 2019. Much of this growth can be attributed to small, enterprising startup companies that discover and develop new therapies and drugs. The emergence of the pandemic, and the quick work on the part of pharmaceutical companies to develop a vaccine for COVID-19, will likely lift those revenues higher in 2021 (and beyond).

Focusing all its efforts on the pre-revenue pharma space—those companies that are receiving R&D funding but not yet generating revenues for their products—AdaptaLogix assembled a bundle of software that specifically addresses the unique needs of those target customers. Knowing that traditional ERPs implementations leave behind critical gaps for these types of clients, it optimized NetSuite Cloud ERP in a way that provides specialized financial and data solutions for pre-revenue pharma organizations’ unmet needs. 

Offering Extreme Business Value

When AdaptaLogix launched in 2016, the company not only wanted to do a great job of serving pre-revenue and pharma and bioscience companies, but also wanted to select a specific bundle of software products for that sector. After exploring their options, AdaptaLogix’s founders selected NetSuite Cloud ERP and began using it as a centralized, enterprise system for its early customers. It also built a team with deep vertical industry knowledge, knowing that it would serve as a strong foundation for both existing and prospective customers.

So rather than trying to be “all things to all people,” AdaptaLogix funneled 100% of its efforts into the pre-revenue life sciences sector. Over the years, it’s gotten to know that sector very well, so much so that its team members can often spot gaps and fulfill needs even before the customers ask about them. It can also guarantee a smooth ERP implementation, having previously encountered and addressed virtually any issue that may arise during this process.

Replacing Basic, Manual Systems

Starting out as small organizations of 10-20 employees operating primarily on alliance partnerships or royalties, pre-revenue companies focus on developing drugs for clinical trials and potential commercialization. They outsource most of their business operations and are usually public companies, which means they have to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) audit controls and other regulations.

Once clinical trials start, and roughly one year before drug commercialization, these pre-revenue organizations start hiring salespeople, building out their supply chains, and signing contracts with third-party logistics companies (3PLs)—all in the name of getting the groundwork in place for FDA approval and subsequent commercialization.

At this point, basic systems (e.g., QuickBooks, Xero, and Excel spreadsheets) put in place during startup no longer work. Sharing data across these highly-manual systems is cumbersome (or in some cases, impossible), and these solutions can’t handle the reporting, audit controls, and other regulatory requirements of a growing pharmaceutical firm.

Meeting 100% of Our Client's Needs

Taking their decades of experience in pharma and system development, AdaptaLogix's partners sought out an ERP that met roughly 90% of those customers' needs out of the box, and then fine-tune that enterprise system to meet 100% of their needs. The company then developed software modules and enhancements customized specifically for pre-revenue pharma companies. As a result, Adaptalogix can now deliver an ERP that consistently meets 100% of its clients' needs, while continually honing that offering to accomodate those customers' changing requirements. 

By developing a platform that was designed with pre-revenue companies in mind, AdaptaLogix removes the complexities and guesswork from the ERP  selection and implementation processes. For example, where another integration partner may need a primer on contract accruals before being able to help a company address this issue—often by developing a solution from scratch or just using Excel spreadsheets to manage them—AdaptaLogix is well versed in contract accruals and their related requirements. “We fill the gaps because we know exactly where those gaps exist,” said Neal.

The AdaptaLogix Difference

AdaptaLogix also offers a standardized deployment model that saves pre-revenue companies significant time, money, and hassle during the  implementation process. Where another partner may request one or more “getting to know you” meetings on the front end, and then have to figure out its new clients’ operational model (e.g., how does it collect revenue? Who are its vendors? How does it pay those vendors?), AdaptaLogix comes to the table equipped to answer these and other relevant questions.

Armed with this insider intelligence, the AdaptaLogix team presents a pre-built, predefined system that meets all of its pre-revenue pharma, biotech, gene  therapy, and cell therapy customers’ needs right out of the gate. “Where other partners start from ground zero,” Neal said, “we start from ‘nearly complete’ and then tweak to accommodate every company’s individual differences.”