Pharmaceutical NEWS - Summer 2007

Survey says…number one, once more

For the sixth time, Lancaster Labs has achieved top rankings in a survey of contract-lab users conducted by Pharmaceutical Technology in February 2007. On each of the magazine’s biennial surveys since 1996, respondents have written in “Lancaster Laboratories” as the lab they would most prefer do business with.

Moreover, of the 13 laboratories listed on the survey, Lancaster Labs achieved the top ranking in five important criteria for lab selection. According to Pharmaceutical Technology, the company was first in percentage of “Excellent” and “Good” responses on Customer Service, Meeting Project Deadlines, Price of Services, Regulatory Expertise, and Scientific Expertise.

Other survey questions elicited information about outsourcing practices. For example, the most common areas in which respondents currently use contractors were: microbiological testing (51%), raw materials testing (47%) and release testing (41%). And the most common areas in which respondents planned to use contractors in the future were: method development and validation (36%), raw materials testing (35%) and stability testing and storage (31%).

“Once again, we are extremely pleased with the results,” says Dr. Wilson Hershey, president. “These positive ratings from industry insiders tell us that we’re succeeding in meeting our goal of providing excellent quality and service for our clients.”

The following methodology was used in the 2007 survey: Pharmaceutical Technology’s research group e-mailed the survey to 12,153 subscribers with primary responsibilities in R&D, QA/QC, production/manufacturing, corporate management and technical/analytical service support. Of that number, 354 responded, and 223 completed the survey after having qualified as a contract laboratory user or chooser.