Drug development is more complex, costly, and competitive than ever. As pipelines diversify, from cell and gene therapies to precision biologics, the pressure to accelerate discovery and development has intensified. Yet, while the science continues to evolve at breakneck speed, the operational systems supporting it often have not. Fragmented supplier management, redundant contracting, and disconnected operational workflows continue to slow progress and inflate costs.
Digitized procurement and supplier-management workflows aren’t simply a nice-to-have, they’re becoming strategic levers that unlock faster science, better portfolio decisions, and stronger market positioning.
Developing a new therapy today can take 10–12 years and cost $2.5 billion or more, according to McKinsey and BIO estimates. The science itself, from target validation, preclinical modeling, through clinical trial design, is extraordinarily complex.
The early stages of R&D, particularly research and early development, are both the most scientifically variable and operationally fragmented. McKinsey research shows companies can cut time from candidate nomination to first-in-human trials by up to 40% when they eliminate process bottlenecks and apply digital enablement.
However, our experience shows us that delays arise from the operational engine supporting that science:
The result: slower program starts, higher costs, and missed opportunities to “fail fast” or pivot early, key advantages in today’s high-velocity discovery environment.
The strategic value of speed in R&D cannot be overstated. McKinsey modeling indicates that compressing development timelines by even 9–12 months can yield $400 million or more in additional rNPV across a mid-sized portfolio. Earlier proof-of-concept means faster feedback, reduced capital burn, and longer market exclusivity [2].
In today’s market, where the average clinical success rate remains below 10%, and time-to-market pressure intensifies, operational efficiency becomes a form of scientific advantage. When internal and external teams operate seamlessly, from supplier qualification, to PO, to data delivery, science moves faster and decision-making improves.
Procurement has historically been seen as a cost-control function. But we believe that in modern R&D organizations, it’s becoming a strategic driver of speed, compliance, and insight.
According to The Hackett Group, organizations adopting a digital world-class procurement model see 21% lower cost, 32% fewer FTEs, and are 86% more likely to be viewed as strategic business partners [3].
That’s precisely the shift required for R&D organizations. Those gains translate directly into R&D throughput: fewer manual steps, unlocked access to innovation, and faster time to study start. In short, digital procurement shifts the function from reactive governance to proactive enablement, enabling R&D leaders to unlock value hidden in their operational fabric.
Science Exchange’s technology platform is a vertical solution, purpose-built for R&D procurement. It provides the infrastructure and intelligence needed to source, onboard, and manage suppliers at scale, without sacrificing compliance or control.
Science Exchange is able to clear several operational roadblocks, in the effort to empower scientists and enable their workflows:
Collectively, this differentiated model enables procurement to be a lever of portfolio agility and scientific throughput.
For biopharmaceutical companies with or without procurement organizations, the impact can be transformative: Your scientists refocus on science. Your programs activate in days instead of weeks / months. Your portfolio captures the timeline compression and NPV gains McKinsey identified.
Quantitatively, this shows up first in cycle time: internal benchmarks show that supplier activation drops from ~45–90+ days to ~4 days when utilizing Science Exchange versus legacy processes, which in turn, pulls first-study start forward by roughly ~2 months. Using the McKinsey rNPV elasticity, that translates to ~$16–$22M of value per drug and potentially hundreds of millions across a multi-asset pipeline. *
When operational efficiency becomes a force multiplier for scientific productivity, the NPV impact is measurable.
In today’s biopharma landscape, the science may be cutting-edge, but the winners will be those who pair that science with operational excellence. Digitized, network-based supplier management is not a peripheral capability, it’s a strategic advantage.
When you deliver new science faster, you reduce risk, extend market exclusivity, and open more shots on goal for your portfolio. And for emerging biopharma companies, every week saved is a week that can make the difference between proof-of-concept and pivot.
* Assumptions: internal cycle-time benchmarks; supplier activation 45 (existing supplier) – 90d (new supplier) to ~4d; ~2 months saved on the critical path; rNPV elasticity ≈ $8–$11M per month (per McKinsey); results vary by asset mix & success probabilities
Sources:
[1] McKinsey & Company “Operational excellence in biopharma research and early development”, Jan 2025
[2] McKinsey & Company, “Strengthening the R&D operating model for pharmaceutical companies”, Jan 2025
[3] Hackett Group, “What’s the Digital World Class® Procurement Advantage?“, Oct 2023