Dear Biographer reader, since our last edition many things have happened in our industry; far from being the recession-proof sector we have come to expect, we face many challenges in the months ahead. The pharmaceutical industry as a whole is facing the challenges of declining R & D productivity, changing healthcare policy and numerous patent expirations due within the next five years. Biotechnology funding has been cut significantly in the early stages of the recession, and remains uncertain due to lack of investor confidence and the credit crisis. The contract research industry is known as a high fixed cost industry; when volume drops, there is colossal pressure on profit and liquidity. In the first half of 2009, orders in the CRO industry (both clinical and nonclinical) declined by more than 20% from the previous year. ...Read more