CRO and CMO costs are one of the largest controllable line items in any development budget — and most emerging biopharma companies negotiate from a position of inexperience. Vendors know this. Standard contracts contain change order triggers, scope ambiguities, and payment terms that consistently inflate program costs 15–30% above what an experienced operator would accept.
Katogen Operations provides end-to-end procurement leadership: vendor identification and benchmarking, RFP management, contract negotiation, and ongoing governance throughout the engagement. We have been on both sides of these contracts. We know where the risk is buried and how to neutralize it before you sign.
Engagements are scoped to what you need — from a single vendor negotiation to full program procurement leadership across Research through Phase 3. Every engagement targets measurable cost reduction and eliminates the change order exposure that derails timelines and erodes investor confidence.
Capabilities — What We Cover
CRO/CMO identification, benchmarking, and selection
RFP development and competitive vendor evaluation
Contract negotiation: scope, payment terms, change order controls, IP protections
Ongoing vendor governance and performance management
Grant procurement support and variance reduction (target: 15–25%)
Cost-to-completion modeling for investor and board reporting
Change order prevention and scope control protocols
Why Katogen — Why Work With Us
We have negotiated vendor contracts across dozens of biopharma programs — we know market rates and where to push.
We work within your existing team structure, not around it.
Every engagement produces a measurable cost outcome — not a report.
Direct Doug Drysdale oversight on every engagement: operator judgment, not junior analyst execution.