The protection of the public and the environment from unsafe chemicals rests on the shoulders of regulatory authorities who must rely on the data and results of toxicological and other testing from commercial research, development, and production processes to inform and guide their regulatory approval decisions; decisions that ultimately decide the marketability and financial success or failure of these products.

Outsourcing to the right testing laboratory can give drug developers a competitive edge by maximising efficiencies and expediting the regulatory approval process. But outsourcing often comes with the risk of stepping into an unknown and untested relationship.

Whether you are a venture capital firm looking at placing several small bets on high-risk start-up, or a later stage asset management or private equating investor considering providing the larger funding required in the later stages of clinical development, two factors are inescapable - drug development is always expensive, and the failure rate will always be high.