Pharma and Biotech: Scale the Opportunity, Not the Organization
Pharma and biotech leaders face a problem. Growth is back, but it brings complexity. projects revenue growth near 7% in 2026. Biotech activity, therapeutic innovation and investment in high-growth treatments support this outlook. Venture capital activity has returned and M&A remains strong. Yet each opportunity can add roles, handoffs and coordination.
A launch may require sales, medical affairs, reimbursement, patient support, key accounts and commercial operations. More headcount will not solve the problem. Leaders need to deploy the right expertise at the right time.
Now, leaders are asking:
- Which customer-facing roles create the most value?
- What mix of specialists and generalists works best?
- How should the model evolve across the product life cycle?
The right choices accelerate growth. The wrong choices let coordination costs absorb the upside.
Analytical Instruments: Put Expertise Where It Changes the Win Rate
Analytical instruments and laboratory suppliers cannot rely on market growth. Performance varies by segment, geography and customer type. Broad coverage spreads investment too thin. Targeted expertise can raise win rates where the economics support it.
Share gain is the growth strategy. Companies are adding scientific specialists, product experts and inside sales capacity. In fact, 62% report investing in product or scientific specialists. Leaders must decide where expertise can change the buying decision and justify its cost.
Questions to help address this can include:
- Which accounts require technical specialists?
- Where does workflow expertise create advantage?
- How should resources balance new placements and installed-base growth?
As products grow more complex, expertise becomes part of the customer experience. Selective deployment can create differentiation without unnecessary cost.
Pharma Services: Balance New Logo Growth with Account Expansion
CROs, CDMOs and other pharma services organizations need more than one path to growth. New logos remain important. Existing customers offer another meaningful source.
Leaders should pair new-logo acquisition with stronger account expansion. Strategic relationships, account penetration and cross-sell discipline can support both.
The organizations gaining advantage are placing greater emphasis on:
- Strategic account management
- Cross-sell and upsell motions
- Commercial specialization
- Revenue-team productivity
More coverage does not always create better coverage. Leaders should focus talent on the accounts and buying centers where teams can expand share.
The Capacity Leak in Every Commercial Model
Each sector needs a different model. Yet all share one costly problem. Too much capacity disappears before sellers reach customers.
Alexander Group research shows that many life sciences sellers spend only 25% to 30% of their time with customers. Best-in-class organizations reach 50%. Internal coordination, research, administration and service issues consume the rest.
Leaders should identify and remove the work that steals customer time. Recovering even part of that capacity may create more growth than adding another role or program.
AI’s Real Prize: More and Better Customer Time
The AI debate often starts with automation. Leaders should ask a better question: How can AI help sellers have more customer conversations and prepare better for each one?
Alexander Group’s 2026 AI & Go-to-Market Job Evolution research found that AI power users achieved:
- 18% more customer calls
- 19% more account coverage
- 23% larger deal sizes
AI can expand customer reach, improve execution and put product knowledge into daily work. Leading organizations use it for customer intelligence, meeting preparation, CRM management, forecasting, coaching and next-best-action recommendations.
AI creates value when it removes low-value work. It gives teams more time for judgment, expertise and relationships. Compliance, regulatory oversight and customer trust still matter.
Make the 2027 Bets Explicit
One forecast and one coverage model cannot fit every market. Strong plans make each trade-off clear.
Commercial executives should leave planning sessions with four clear decisions:
- Scale pharma and biotech growth without commercial sprawl.
- Deploy specialized expertise where it creates advantage.
- Balance new-logo growth with account expansion in pharma services.
- Recover seller capacity across every sector.
Where will we invest? Who will own key customer moments? How much capacity can we recover? Where can AI improve execution? Clear answers turn a budget into a growth plan.
The 2027 winners will place clear bets, move resources faster and turn uncertainty into advantage.
