Speaking at the conference on the value of domestic and international outsourcing, scientists from Eli Lilly and Procter and Gamble said there were many benefits of outsourcing and companies should consider the business advantages.

"Our industry is very conservative," Eli Lilly drug disposition department head Dr Ajai Chaudhary said.

"I think there are arguments on risk sharing in our industry. The way we are doing business, we have to transform and change and we have to find faster ways to change. Outsourcing is just one of the pieces. It's a means to get there but it's hard in our highly regulated industry. We do have to find smarter ways to do things and this is one tack but we have to make sure we do it properly."

Chaudhary said the growth of emerging economies, such as China, India and Brazil, meant the door was open for taking advantage of the outsourcing opportunities such economies were offering.

These opportunities included cost factors, access to regional markets which also provided markets of untapped unmet medical needs, new IP protection treatise, and talented professionals who had western training now returning to their homelands.

"But resources are needed to manage the outsourcing. You have to put it into perspective and see what works best for you and your company," Chaudhary said.

There were things to look out for, he said, such as cultural differences that affected business etiquette, and communication between the parties.

Procter and Gamble principle scientist Dr Anthony DeStefano cautioned there were risks involved with outsourcing, and the contractors took on the burden of that risk.

He said outsourcing was not a quick fix for companies to solve business problems, but rather, it was a long-term investment which could prove a strategic move for companies.

Chaudhary said it was not so much that big pharma should be embracing outsourcing, but that companies should be doing what best meets the business goals and gets drugs to the patient.

"Companies should do their R&D and manufacturing wherever it makes sense. Our goal is to get drugs to patients. Regardless of whether it goes through China or New York, we should not loose sight of that goal," he said.