This is Not Your Parent’s Compliance Program – The New Era of Compliance Resourcing at Small to Mid-Size Pharmaceutical Companies

At the 14th Annual CBI Pharmaceutical Compliance Congress held in April 2017, almost half the attendees were from small to mid-sized companies that generate $3 billion or less in annual revenue. At the same time, the compliance burdens for all pharmaceutical companies continue to increase. This article explores the output of industry experts in attendance at CBI’s small to mid-sized breakout regarding the need for minimum compliance program resources as well as survey data showing that certain companies are funding their compliance programs in line with these needed minimum resources.

In April 2017, life science compliance professionals from around the country once again made the annual pilgrimage to Washington DC for CBI’s Annual Pharmaceutical Compliance Congress. Now in its 14th year, it is one of the largest annual gatherings of such professionals in the United States. What is remarkable about this conference, is that while members from large pharmaceutical companies once accounted for the bulk of the attendance, today roughly 44% of the more than 500 attendees come from small to mid-sized companies (“SMCs”). In other words, almost half the attendees come
from companies that have $3 billion or less in annual revenue.

Given this changing demographic, CBI has expanded its SMC content offerings, including a three-part breakout addressing SMC-specific topics and challenges. At the center of this year’s SMC breakout was the challenge of compliance resourcing.