Altasciences is a forward-thinking, mid-size early-phase contract research organization offering biopharmaceutical companies of all sizes a simplified, never-seen-before drug development experience. As The CEO Views recognizes the company as one of the “Most Influential Companies to Watch 2025,” Chris Perkin, CEO of Altasciences, shares how the company achieved the position it is in today.
1) What was your inspiration behind the inception of the company? What was your mission at the outset?
I saw a need in the pharmaceutical research industry for a different kind of drug development outsourcing model. It was clear to me that emerging and small- to mid-sized biotech and biopharma companies needed a partner that reflected the complex, fast-moving, and interconnected nature of drug development. I joined Altasciences as CEO in 2010 because I saw an opportunity to create a company that could address that gap in the industry.
Our mission is straightforward: enable sponsors to reach critical drug development decision-making milestones faster by optimizing the entire process. At Altasciences, we bring together traditionally separate early-phase drug development steps under one CRO/CDMO—where our teams and systems communicate effectively and operate in coordination. This ensures our clients never have to repeat themselves as they advance their new drug.
2) Please tell us how Altasciences achieved the position it is in today.
We began expanding our capabilities and reach. Our first acquisition in 2013 of a clinical pharmacology unit in Kansas marked our transition from the testing of generic drugs to innovator drugs. Then came our first preclinical site in Seattle in 2018. We grew even more from 2020 to 2023, adding a CDMO facility in Philadelphia, a third clinical unit in Los Angeles, three preclinical sites in Scranton, Columbia, and Sacramento, and a UK office. Each brought us closer to becoming the full-service, early-phase partner we are today.
3) Please briefly explain the proactive drug development service approach adopted by the company.
Proactive Drug Development is our fully integrated, forward-thinking approach, built on three pillars—it allows us to reduce development timelines by up to 40%, helping sponsors make faster decisions and deliver better drugs to patients who need them more swiftly.
First, Tell Us Once™: Altasciences’ commitment to communication, supported by a proprietary platform that shares client information across teams, phases, and sites—reducing repetition and streamlining execution.
Second, A.T.L.A.S.: We create an integrated, comprehensive roadmap that gives us, and our clients, visibility on every step of their project so that we can plan for success, adapt their plan along the way, and avoid roadblocks from the start. With all services in-house, we can align timelines, anticipate challenges, and accelerate transitions.
Third, our structure: All teams report to two Co-COOs, enabling cross-functional collaboration and eliminating silos.
4) Altasciences aims to help research and develop potentially life-saving therapeutics with integrated CRO or CDMO services. Could you please share how the company is delivering a big impact with a personal touch?
Drug development is complex: every step demands precision, speed, and reliability. And managing multiple vendors for the different R&D stages often slows sponsors down. Altasciences simplifies the process. As the only CRO/CDMO offering end-to-end early-phase development, we take our client’s molecule from lead candidate selection to clinical proof of concept, and beyond. No duplicate admin work. No communication gaps. Just a seamless path forward with a single partner. Plus, clients can partner with us for entire drug development programs end to end, or for just one study — we offer them complete flexibility using the same approach.
5) What are some of the key challenges you observe in the industry, and how are you approaching them?
For a long time, the greatest challenge has been coordinating all the different pieces to develop new drugs to their next milestone, be it preclinical, Phase one, two, or three, or submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) to regulators. The challenge has grown over time as scientific advances produce increasingly complex drug candidates, driving constant change across the development landscape. Our strategy has been to continually adapt to clients’ changing needs, adding the capabilities and staff necessary to address their changing requirements.
6) What unique approach does Altasciences take to help sponsors get to clinical proof of concept faster?
By incorporating our services within a single operational framework, we reduce delays and redundancy throughout each phase. Our teams work collaboratively using shared systems and real-time insights to guide each subsequent step of the journey—whether the sponsor is performing a single study or a whole drug development program. Our approach ensures faster and smoother progress toward clinical proof of concept.
7) Being an innovator yourself, how do you drive innovation?
To me, innovation is not synonymous with “new”. Innovation can mean doing something differently, and that’s what we have done at Altasciences. I’ve spent a lot of time listening to what sponsors were saying about their biggest challenges and used that to help shape solutions that directly address clients’ pain points. We continue to drive innovation through complex research and a commitment to knowledge sharing. As such, at Altasciences, we have published nearly 50 issues of our scientific journal, The Altascientist, and produced a wide range of eBooks, audiobooks, webinars, and podcasts.
8) In what ways do you maintain a competitive advantage?
One of our core strengths lies in how we approach early-phase drug development as a continuous, integrated process—not a handoff between disconnected vendors or teams. This structure gives us the ability for cross-functional planning, where insights from one stage directly inform the next. We don’t just pass the baton; we move forward together as a team, aligning timelines, anticipating challenges, and keeping our clients’ programs on track.
9) What do you see as the future of the industry? How do you envision positioning your company to thrive in the future?
There is still so much work to do when it comes to changing the way we, as a global health community, develop new drugs and treatments faster for quicker access to potentially life-changing therapies. Our team has already implemented fully vetted AI tools and AI initiatives to support even more productive workflows.
While the full scope of AI in research remains to be seen, these tools are already proving valuable for administrative tasks, improving transparency, navigating data quality and integration challenges, and reducing the time spent on clinical study report formatting.
The biggest impact is in the later stages of drug development, where large outpatient populations, often across continents, are becoming much more accessible for both recruitment and monitoring. These virtual capabilities are somewhat less critical to us. However, more sophisticated electronic data collection tools are reducing the need for manual data review and accelerating decision-making by giving clients near real-time access to their studies.
10) Would you like to give any advice to young and emerging entrepreneurs who are about to embark on their business journey?
My advice to emerging entrepreneurs would be: Don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo. Innovate, take chances, and choose a different path. Change is slow in an industry like ours, and the proven, established standard is often preferred over out-of-the-box thinking. When I started on my vision for Altasciences, we received a lot of raised eyebrows because it was novel—never been done before. But, through passion, determination, and innovation, we were able to prove that there is another way to outsource research; we don’t have to settle for the status quo. Although you may initially feel alone, perseverance and a good plan will attract others who are like-minded, and that will become your foundation.
