Top 3 Communities for Pharmaceutical Near Sourcing

We’ve established that near sourcing has its advantages over outsourcing, but what are the best areas to near source? CROs, biotechs, and pharmas are found throughout the world, but some communities have become hubs for scientific research. Local organizations are popping up that connect nearby groups, allowing for easier networking and a tighter community. We look at 3 great regions in the United States for near sourcing:

1. San Diego, CA: Home to 304 CROs and over 100 biotech and pharma companies, San Diego really stands out due to it’s level of organization. Two local groups, BIOCOM and CONNECT, count a majority of life science companies as members. These groups allow company meet ups with each other and easier communication. BIOCOM even has created a directory and map of its CRO members, just to make the process a bit easier.¹ Los Angeles and Orange County is not far off, opening up even more options for near sourcing.

2. Tri-state + Philadelphia Region: Boasting 653 CROs, this cluster includes some of the US biggest cities. As documented recently in the Philadelphia Business Journal,² Philadelphia is a growing area for CROs because of the close proximity to the headquarters of pharmaceutical giants such as Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and Pfizer. Groups such as Pennsylvania Bio unite the community and open up the door for local sourcing.

3. Maryland: Surrounding the National Institute of Health are plenty of CROs and life science companies. Biobuzz,³ a networking group, has organized the nearby community in order to promote working together, networking, and job-seeking. They’ve also created a very detailed map of the community, allowing for easy visualization of potential strategic partners nearby.

Not in one of these regions? There is likely an organization that connects local companies so keep an eye out for it.

Interesting Links

1. BIOCOM CRO Map
2. CROs passing drug test with big growth (Philadelphia Business Journal)
3. Biobuzz Maryland Map