The contract research environment is flourishing, and pressures from external forces will continue to keep it that way. Consolidation within the CRO industry is becoming more common, and companies are increasingly turning to CROs as trusted partners and source of new ideas that can help them advance innovative drugs. They are a vital partner in a drug's development process. They have demonstrated the ability to increase the rate of innovation and boost the speed to market of a new drug.

Advances in technology and medical knowledge have made drug development increasingly complex. As a result, the role of a CRO in a drug's development process has grown exponentially. The CRO must evolve to meet the ever-changing needs of sponsors and pharma firms. For example, a CRO that is able to provide a full range of scientific services is far more valuable than a CRO that only performs a limited number of assays.