Cloud ERP Helps Gene Therapy Companies Commercialize Innovative Drugs

With NetSuite as a foundation, BDO Digital saves emerging and established gene therapy companies time and money as they progress down the path to successful commercialization and introduce their innovative therapies to the market.

A promising new medical field that could potentially treat and cure various diseases, gene therapy is still in the early stages of development and growing quickly. There are more than 500 U.S. organizations currently operating in the field focus on modifying or replacing specific genes—effectively addressing the root cause of disease versus just treating symptoms. 

On the path to revolutionizing disease treatment, gene therapy companies face numerous technological challenges. To develop therapies that are both accessible and affordable for patients, gene therapy organizations must be able to operate at scale as they work towards product commercialization. Along the way, these firms will also have to manage regulatory hurdles and financial constraints while preparing for long-term success in their nascent market. 

As the gene therapy sector continues to mature, companies operating in it are forming partnerships and selling capacity on a “contract development and manufacturing organization” (CDMO) basis. Doing so creates new operational challenges for the companies, which are building multimillion dollar facilities not only to build out their own intellectual property (IP) but also offering any extra plant capacity to other companies. This helps companies add new revenue streams, but it can also complicate their business models. 

In other cases, gene therapy companies will run their operations on basic accounting systems and spreadsheets right up until the point of commercialization—or, when they can start selling their drugs on the market. Other companies invest in on-premises ERPs that serve a purpose during the startup phase, but that quickly become expensive and impractical as their organizations mature.