Cipher Releases First-of-its-Kind Competitive Intelligence “State of Play” Report for Life Sciences

Cipher, a leading provider of competitive and market intelligence consulting and technology solutions, partnered with James Madison University to conduct a first-of-its-kind comprehensive analysis of the state of Competitive Intelligence (CI) within the Life Sciences industry (i.e. Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology, and Medical Devices).

Cipher examined the state of play in the competitive intelligence industry to determine how the CI function is structured in the Top 300 Life Sciences companies The study looked at the top 100 companies by last reported revenue in each vertical and gathered over 10,000 data points on CI professionals supporting these organizations.

As a result of the study, Cipher identified five major insights for CI in the Life Sciences:

There are over 400 CI professionals in the top 300 Life Sciences companies, with Pfizer and Roche maintaining the largest and most mature CI teams in the industry, followed by Eli Lilly, Teva Pharma, and Regeneron The top two CI teams, by size, employ an average of 48 professionals, the next three largest CI teams average at 13 professionals The average CI team size across all top 300 organizations is two professionals Seven out of ten leading Life Sciences companies view CI as a strategic priority for their organizations Strategy and Marketing departments house 61% of CI professionals across the top 300 Life Sciences companies Among Life Sciences CI professionals, Business is the most prevalent Bachelor’s degree, while Biology and Chemistry are the most prevalent industry-specific Bachelor’s degrees. However, many professionals in the most mature CI teams boast strong academic credentials in the hard sciences. The most effective use of a CI team is to actively integrate marketing, business analytics, pricing strategy, and innovation professionals into the company-wide strategic decision-making process

Cipher’s team worked directly with professors and students at JMU to conduct the research for this study and compile the final report. “The Life Sciences industry, particularly the Pharmaceuticals industry, have long seen the value of CI and consistently maintained a CI function at some level of their organization. The CI State of Play report offers insights not only for companies in the Life Sciences industry, but for all companies in highly competitive markets seeking build or maintain a CI capability,” said Peter Grimm, Cipher’s CEO.

“We found it especially interesting that, unlike in other industries, a large proportion of CI professionals in Life Sciences did not study Business or Business-related fields in undergraduate and graduate school. Rather, many of them pursued hard science degrees and entered the Life Science industry first, and only later developed a specialty around CI,” said Derek Heiss, Cipher’s Director of Consulting.

Martyn Smith, Head of Global Competitive Intelligence for Roche, which the study noted as one of the clear leaders in Life Sciences CI, reiterated the importance of a scientific background to becoming a successful CI practitioner in Life Sciences. “A good understanding of the science is extremely helpful for Life Sciences CI practitioners to build and maintain credibility with the key constituencies they serve within the company, especially in the research teams. Around half of my CI team have a PhD in the hard sciences,” Smith said.

For more information on this new industry report, view the press release announcement .

About Cipher Cipher is a full-service competitive strategy and technology firm. We provide world-class consulting services and technology solutions that help our clients gain and maintain a competitive edge. Cipher’s Knowledge360 ® is an all-in-one, cloud-based competitive intelligence solution that automates the collection and organization of information from a multitude of sources, allowing users to collaborate in real-time to develop strategic insights that provide a competitive edge. www.cipher-sys.com

About James Madison University

James Madison University offers programs on the bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels with its primary emphasis on the undergraduate student. Established March 14, 1908, JMU has been a coeducational institution since 1966. www.jmu.edu

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