Altasciences
The Truly Integrated Early-Phase Drug Development Solution

The process of bringing a drug to market is intricate and multifaceted. It involves multiple stages, scientific exploration, regulatory compliance, and significant investments of time and resources. Throughout the process, collaboration among the key stakeholders— scientists, clinicians, regulatory agencies, and many others—is crucial.

Given the number of required partners, sponsors have witnessed a consistent challenge over the years: the cumbersome process of transferring data, projects, and methodologies, especially between contract research organizations (CROs) required to conduct studies on their drugs and aid in regulatory submission. This process consumes valuable time, invites errors, and ultimately results in substantial setbacks to research and development (R&D) timelines. Altasciences operates as a leading drug development solutions provider—a fully integrated CRO/CDMO. Other CROs might possess some or all capabilities necessary for guiding a drug through its initial developmental phases, but none match the vertical and horizontal integration exhibited by Altasciences. This distinctive integration allows for a more streamlined and expedited experience for sponsors.

Altasciences offers clients a unique opportunity to partner with one CRO/ CDMO for all their early-phase drug development needs. Its comprehensive, synchronized, and seamless pathway provides sponsors with various entry points according to where they are in the drug development process, catering to their specific needs. Sponsors can therefore partner with Altasciences for an end-to-end program, or for a specific service.

With proprietary systems in place to support end-to-end planning and information sharing, Altasciences fosters close collaboration among teams, across sites and phases, to mitigate risks and delays. With a holistic view of a client’s program, from lead candidate selection to clinical proof of concept (and beyond), Altasciences can proactively anticipate and thwart program-specific roadblocks as well as optimize timelines through efficiencies, such as conducting certain activities in parallel. For example, Altasciences' parallel processing allows for the Investigator's Brochure to be updated while IND-enabling studies are in progress, and for clinical program planning to begin while preclinical safety assessment is ongoing.

Through this integrated approach to early-phase drug development—which they’ve coined as Proactive Drug Development—Altasciences can save sponsors up to 40 percent in time, highlighting the efficacy of its methodology.

“We are not limited by a linear, task-based approach when it comes to drug development. Given our comprehensive capabilities, some key research activities are handled in parallel, ensuring a smoother and faster transition for the client between phases or services.

Our clients only require one provider, resulting in less paperwork, fewer handoffs, reduced risk, and no need to repeat their needs and study requirements,” says Chris Perkin, the CEO of Altasciences.

For timely communication and planning, a dedicated, cross-functional Altasciences program manager is assigned to the project, acting as a liaison between the clients and Altasciences, as well as between scientific teams. With a proprietary centralized scheduling system, its program manager proactively manages timelines from lead candidate selection to clinical proof of concept, including formulation and manufacturing, as well as bioanalysis up to Phase IV, which also facilitates milestone tracking. They also provide real-time responses to challenges that may arise, giving the organization the opportunity to react proactively. Proprietary information-sharing and scheduling systems ensure all internal key stakeholders have visibility into studies, programs, and client preferences, and can adjust their work plans as the project advances, if needed. “From the sponsor’s perspective, they only have to Tell Us Once™, and we'll take care of the rest,” says Marie-Hélène Raigneau, Co-Chief Operating Officer at Altasciences.

Unique Organizational Culture

Altasciences’ unique organizational structure, based on the principle of eliminating operational silos, enables the company to serve its clients more efficiently and cohesively. All scientific and operational teams are led by two co-chief operating officers; one covers the preclinical solution, while the other focuses on clinical, bioanalytical, manufacturing, and research support solutions."Marie- Hélène and I have been working together for close to 20 years. As Co-COOs, we have fostered teams that work together, ensuring a seamless experience as our client's molecule advances from one phase to the next," explains Steve Mason, Co-Chief Operating Officer at Altasciences This type of integration is why Altasciences' motto is called Moving in Unison; it enables synergy throughout a client's early-phase journey.

“The synergies created between phases and the scientific teams, as well as with clients, translates into a results-driven exchange, closer client relationships, and reduced drug development timelines,” concludes Steve.

Client Feedback as a Way of Life

Altasciences boasts a dedicated client experience team focused not only on gathering client feedback but also on effectively channeling this input to the appropriate individuals and departments. This feedback is instrumental in fostering employee recognition and implementing valuable process enhancements. Client feedback is captured via surveys, post-project meetings, conversations with its executive team, and other forms of communication throughout a client’s journey with Altasciences, and then documented in a proprietary database. Client satisfaction and feedback are analyzed, and used to optimize workflows and communication.

Sharing of Knowledge

Its team has experience spanning decades and is eager to share their wealth of knowledge while keeping themselves abreast of the latest regulations, equipment, and trends. For this reason, the company creates a variety of resources and content, such as its own scientific journal (The Altascientist), audiobooks, eBooks, webinars and podcasts, symposia, and scientific poster presentations at industry conferences.

“We make all these resources available, as a complementary service, in the Resource Center of our website. Our resources have been proven to be another excellent way of informing and guiding clients on their drug development journey,” says Chris.

Continued Growth to Meet Sponsor Needs

Altasciences is always looking for ways to improve the sponsor's experience, whether that is through increasing capabilities and capacity or by refining its processes. Over just the last five years, it has augmented its service offerings through both acquisitions and expansions. From 2020 to 2023, Altasciences added six locations: a CDMO facility in Philadelphia; a third clinical unit in Los Angeles; three more preclinical facilities in Sacramento, Scranton, and Columbia; and an office in England. It also recently added a 35,000-square-foot extension to its CDMO facility, in addition to a recent expansion of the bioanalytical laboratory at its preclinical facility situated in Columbia, MO.

Going forward, Altasciences expects to continue to grow its relationships with clients, as they partner with them for more services and even more end-to-end programs. It also looks forward to continuing to grow its footprint in Europe.

“We are committed to fostering integration and harmonization within our operations. This alignment is pivotal, enabling us to consistently prioritize our clients' needs," says Chris. "It empowers us to swiftly identify and address any industry or service offering gaps, thereby enhancing our ability to meet these challenges. Altasciences has a history of proactively adapting and we will persist in this approach. The invaluable insights garnered from client feedback significantly contribute to our ongoing evolution.”