Accenture Acquires Octagon Research Solutions as Competition Heats up in Pharma

Accenture’s recently announced acquisition of Octagon Research Solutions lies at the juncture of two broad trends: the pharmaceutical industry’s increased interest in outsourcing solutions and the IT and business process outsourcing industry’s focus on growing industry-specific capabilities.

In the midst of a period of wrenching industry change, pharma companies of all sizes are looking for ways to accelerate their results, while at the same time reduce costs throughout operations. Even as the complexity and risks of the drug approval submission process continue to increase, pharma companies are seeking to submit filings to global authorities more rapidly, to bring drugs to more markets more quickly.

Octagon’s software-enabled services in clinical data management and regulatory submission processes help biotech and pharma companies reduce their costs and increase the quality and efficiency of drug approval submissions. Accenture will add client relationships and business process outsourcing management acumen, global delivery capabilities, and deep pockets for product development and expansion.

For Accenture, Octagon’s regulatory and clinical information technology solutions, services, and expertise augments Accenture’s broad pharma industry capabilities. HfS believes this acquisition gives Accenture an edge in an increasingly competitive market that is doubling-down on specialized domain capabilities and integrated business platforms. Moreover, Accenture is adding significant new business service offerings that will enable it to expand and deepen relationships with pharma industry clients.

Accenture and Octagon have partnered on client engagements in the past five years, which should ease the implementation of the acquisition and increase the likelihood of a successful integration. Key to Accenture’s future success with these services will be retaining Octagon’s 380 employees, many of whom have years of experience in regulatory compliance at top pharma companies.