No matter whether a partner is a 3rd party or a 10th party, ignorance is no excuse if regulators come knocking. Even with this understanding, many life sciences companies still don't have a firm grip on their compliance risks. The only solution is a thorough, proactive due diligence program that asks detailed questions of partners and which accounts for common issues found within the industry. I recently contributed an article to PharmaPhorum, explaining how updated technology provides compliance departments with increased efficiency, and the kind of deep visibility into relationships at all levels that just wasn't possible a decade ago. In part:

“Many life sciences companies — particularly small- to medium-sized ones — still don't have a firm grip on their whole universe of partner risks.

It's easy to see how things can quickly get out of control when life science companies are going 4-5 levels deep in their relationships. The only solution is a thorough, proactive due diligence program that asks detailed questions of partners and which accounts for issues like market access and government relations that are endemic to the life sciences industry.

Technology allows firms to better understand which partners are the high performers on compliance, as well as those who are falling short, enabling them to allocate resources more efficiently. It provides a wealth of automations and integrations that help companies build that efficient, risk-based approach to compliance.

Running a strong compliance program that truly covers all the risks inherent in a business like life sciences isn’t impossible without updated technology; but it is a lot harder."