- Biopharmaceutical company implements Oncontact CRM to manage interactions and increase productivity-
PTC Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of orally administered, proprietary small-molecule drugs that target post-transcriptional control processes. PTC Therapeutics’ current pipeline of clinical and pre-clinical product candidates addresses multiple indications, including genetic disorders, cancer and infectious diseases.
A privately owned company with 170 employees to date, PTC Therapeutics previously relied on Microsoft Outlook to keep track of its external communication. However, in 2003 the company realized it needed a customer relationship management (CRM) solution to provide more organization and flexibility to its external communication in order to increase productivity and efficiency.
A Solution Above the Rest
PTC Therapeutics needed a solution that could provide a user-friendly solution to managing external communications while increasing productivity. More specifically, the company needed a solution that was compatible with Microsoft Outlook and allowed colleagues to share information but also retain it in a centralized location.
Previously, PTC Therapeutics tested numerous CRM products but was unsuccessful in finding the right solution to meet its needs. Still eager to find the right fit, the company decided to outsource the project to a consulting firm, New-York based BIOCIO. More than 300 solutions were assessed in order to find an easy to use, customizable and affordable solution to complement PTC Therapeutics business processes. The consulting firm narrowed down the pool to six finalists, quizzing them against a list of requirements developed with PTC. Finally, the best three solutions out of the 300 were presented to decision makers at the organization where together they decided to implement Oncontact Software’s Oncontact CRM.
“Oncontact was the only solution that was flexible enough to accommodate our requests,” said Claudia Hirawat, senior vice president, PTC Therapeutics. “We were confident that Oncontact CRM would provide us with the tools needed to support our business processes.”
Increased Volume of Output
Since implementing Oncontact CRM, PTC uses it as a way to track all external communication, whether it is regarding investor or public relations, business development or alliance management.
The customization process was simple and provided fast, straightforward enhancements allowing employees’ greater visibility of their action items associated with external communication.
“Our business development team consists of three individuals who are responsible for managing hundreds of daily communications and for the execution of multi-million dollar collaborations,” added Hirawat. “Without Oncontact there is no way that we could manage the same level or multitude of discussions and communication.”
A Seamless Transition
One feature that stood out is the fact that not every employee in the organization is required to use Oncontact CRM. Some colleagues at PTC are strictly internally focused and do not require Oncontact’s services to log any external relationships. Since Oncontact CRM has the ability to run through Outlook, there are no disruptions as they work as a team. This is key because the solution does not interrupt any internal processes and is used only in the context it is needed.
“The flexibility of the solution was a critical component of our decision,” Hirawat said. “It is an attribute that we could only find with Oncontact’s solution.”
A Reliable Solution
PTC Therapeutics has been pleased with its selection since utilizing Oncontact CRM. The toolkit has allowed the company to continuously make modifications in order to evolve with the company’s needs as it continues to grow.
“Oncontact CRM has been incredibly stable,” said Hirawat. “In my past experience, it is quite common to quickly outgrow a vendor solution. I’m extremely impressed with how long Oncontact has been successfully utilized by PTC Therapeutics.”
