The science and art of lab management
The value of the lab manager role
The average estimated research and development cost of bringing a new drug to market is more than USD $1.3B with a median cost of over USD $985M.1
To keep pace with continued demand for new drugs, the burden of cost, and increasing bottom line pressure, pharmaceutical companies look to improve efficiency and optimization so research teams can advance discovery quickly.
However, the responsibility for managing efficient, optimized labs often falls to the scientists themselves. In a typical lab set-up, lab management duties are often divided among several researchers, each tasked with managing specific tasks, from glass washing to waste bin disposal to inventory management.
For example, in one pharmaceutical company that Avantor works with, lab management duties were divided among several scientists, each spending an estimated 10% to 20% of their time on these vital — but non-core — scientific responsibilities. Even as they’re working to make the next breakthrough discovery, they are also dealing with numerous challenges that take the focus away from their mission.