“What we do in pharma is urgent—patients can’t wait for the products we’re here to produce” says Matthew Dodge, PhD, PMP, Associate Director, Project Management at Merck
Ahead of CDMO Live, Matt explains how project management has a key role to play in enabling a team of experts to support critical small molecule CTDMO services.
Facilitating Expert Collaboration
Merck’s service is built around a dedicated project team, including a project manager and subject matter experts (SMEs), to provide comprehensive support throughout all project stages.
“Our standard approach is to give you a dedicated project team… including a project manager, [and] a subject matter expert (SME) from every critical area,” Matt explains. The importance of proactive, consistent communication is stressed, with a focus on keeping clients fully informed through verbal and written updates.
Merck’s project managers and business managers work closely with their counterparts on the client side to facilitate direct communication between technical experts.
They offer a single-point of contact for all project requirements, designed to consolidate and facilitate direct communication by technical leads
This approach ensures that if Merck’s development scientists make a critical discovery, they communicate directly with the client’s development scientists, and the same goes for analytical scientists, manufacturing leads, and technical experts in quality, EHS, and regulatory.
Customisation is key to their approach, with processes adapted to meet the specific demands of each project. This includes increasing communication frequency for critical projects and involving leadership through joint steering committees to foster successful partnerships.
When challenges arise, the response is immediate and focused – committed to resolving issues promptly for the benefit of the patients.
“Our SMEs will assemble quickly, to communicate the issue to you, develop and propose a solution, and then work directly with you to solve it as quickly as possible.” says Matt
Advice for better partnering
Matt offers the following advice tips for better partnering with your CDMO:
- Agree on a Scope of Work: Establish a clear scope of work upfront to ensure correct expectations and a plan for execution.
- Engage SMEs Throughout the Process: Encourage direct SME-to-SME interaction for optimal outcomes.
- Involve Client Leadership: Offer business reviews and involve leadership on both sides to prevent escalations and maintain awareness.
- Share Patient Stories: Motivate team members by sharing the tangible impact of their work on patients. As most patient interactions come from clients, sharing information about the patients and targeted indications is encouraged.
“Hearing about tangible and real impact of the work that we do is very motivational. Our experts work in the pharmaceutical industry, because of the impact we can have on patients, patient interaction comes from our clients, so please share information about the patients, and indications you are targeting”.
Watch the full video presentation below:
The Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany operates as MilliporeSigma in the U.S. and Canada.
