Ep. 258, Chapter 4: Procurement for Early Stage Biotechs with Tom Wells

26:30 – 37:43

Wells highlights two critical inflection points for biopharma companies: moving from pre-clinical to clinical stages, and then from clinical to commercial. The first transition demands acquiring a wide array of new resources—both scientific (CROs, lab space, reagents) and non-scientific (office space, HR services, legal counsel)—many of which are expensive, complex, and heavily regulated. He warns that early-stage leadership, often scientifically driven, may lack expertise in planning such diverse spending, leading to undisciplined habits, wasted funds, or missed innovative opportunities. Wells recommends that companies consider engaging a fractional or consulting procurement specialist, if not a full-time hire, to implement simple, effective procurement tools and provide strategic oversight.