"Also, the culture is fast-paced and more entrepreneurial," says Dr Kureishi. Dr Amar Kureishi is head of drug development Asia at Quintiles. Prior to joining Quintiles, Dr Kureishi was vice president & head of global medical Affairs at BayerHealthcare Pharma. Moving to a contract partner organization has proved to be a dynamic and exciting experience for him.
"People generally make decisions faster as the focus is on finding solutions for the customer, and implementing these solutions as efficiently as possible. In pharma companies, there tends to be much more discussion, which can slow down the progress of an idea.

"Stepping out into a service company has provided me with a view of how things are done across many companies. I suddenly have a much broader exposure and am learning things that I wasn't previously aware of," says Dr Kureishi.

At Catalent Pharma Solutions, Mr Barnes enjoys seeing the tangible results from his work. "Because manufacturing is at the heart of what we do, my role isn't just another function of a major corporation, but is a value generating activity for the company. That's a real business responsibility with real consequences. As a manufacturing professional by experience, this is a very inspiring position to be in."

However, taking a position in a contract organization is not without challenges and initially, people may find themselves well outside of their comfort zone.

"The speed of decision-making is at a different level," says Mr Schwietert. "The sense of urgency in small or mid-size companies is incredible - but this can bring the best out of people. There's also a greater sense of accountability. While decision-making is shared across a broad group of people within a pharma company, your decisions in a contract environment have more impact. This can be both an opportunity and a challenge."
For Mr Barnes, coming to terms with new commercial realities is a big part of moving to a contract organisation. "There is a level of independence and commercial acumen required to be able to make decisions which are sound for the business in a fast-paced environment."