In this day and age, pharmaceutical consulting firms provide a strategic service for companies involved in this dynamic industry and provide a crucial extra element as the company battles through uncertain times. Generally, pharmaceutical consultants are industry experts and have often assumed key roles in other areas within the healthcare industry before joining the consulting organisation. Their knowledge and recommendations do not come from textbooks, but from passion, ability and a wide range of personal experiences.

In these increasingly difficult times, a pharmaceutical company must ensure that it is strategically placed and is bringing its virgin products to a tough marketplace correctly and with conviction. The journey between product manufacture and the patient involves numerous layers of bureaucracy, regulatory restrictions and enforcement, even though the patient is much in need of a product. This is by any definition a difficult environment and the pharmaceutical consultant can be a major asset.

After many decades of consultation, it looks like legislation will soon change how the US healthcare industry looks and affect one of the world’s most complex industries. Nobody is sure just how these changes will affect organisations directly involved in the business and this change is likely to unfold over a period of many months and years. This will be a period of learning for everyone and it goes without saying that the organisation that is best prepared, will capitalise the most from the opportunities ahead. Many view change as being a threatening situation, but for those who are forward thinking, they can see opportunities and will ensure that pharma consulting firms help them to delineate and take advantage accordingly.

The pharmaceutical and healthcare consulting firm should be selected on ability, its proven track record and its potential to help the company significantly. The company must have the right balance of perspective and experience to be able to make judgements and recommendations to the organisation to solve daily challenges. The pharmaceutical consultant should be a close ally to senior decision-makers within the organisation and should provide a helping hand with expert input on a timely basis.

If key management decisions appear to be built on shaky ground, the pharmaceutical consultant should always be available and ready to implement a challenge to these positions, if better tactics and an alternate approach could result in a more profitable outcome. The consultant will not take over the situation of course, but a good consulting firm is quite able to look at the situation from a “devil’s advocate” or neutral and unbiased position, calling on knowledge and experience of similar situations in the past.

A pharma consulting firm should be able to anticipate trends by looking into its crystal ball and making sure that the organisation is advised of any potential threats or emerging issues that it should be aware of, if likely to impact a position. Developments within the marketplace could be critical to a planned product down the road and early intervention at decision-making time can often make the difference between great profits or a failed venture. The relationship between the pharmaceutical consulting firm and senior executives of the company should be close, established and proven, with a track record of positive outcomes.

Alan Gillies is the CEO of L2L Consulting, a cutting-edge pharma consultancy firm which specialises in optimising productivity and performance within international companies by applying tailored organisational strategies.