Business Development in Life Sciences: In-House vs. Outsourced
- Outbound Pharma
- Sep 19
- 6 min read
A lot of life science vendors still handle cold outreach with their own teams. And sure, it can work - but often it’s slow, expensive, and more complicated than it used to be. More and more businesses are moving towards outsourced business development, and for good reason.
This article explains why the old way is so costly and outlines a smarter path forward.
The True Cost of Doing It Yourself
Even with all the new AI tools, cold outreach is far from easy. It eats up a surprising amount of time and resources. The question we try to answer here is about Business Development in Life Sciences, In-House vs. Outsourced: which side to choose?
You have to know how to:
Segment the market - which industry segments/companies should you start with
Strategically plan your outreach - most likely, you won’t be able to tackle everything at once, so you need to plan one or multiple campaigns. This should not be improvised but planned carefully
Clean and organize lists: Make sure you have the right target company list, as well as your ideal customer profile’s contact information.
Warm up domains: You should not be using your company’s main domain for cold outreach. This means that you need to invest in multiple domains and email addresses that are specifically designed to prevent your primary domain from going to spam.
Be good at lead generation: Sales people are not necessarily skilled at new BD. Acquiring these skills, such as setting-up sequences, timing, copyrighting, A/B testing, monitoring, reporting etc. requires a great deal of experience-based skills.
Follow up consistently: You can’t just send an email and hope someone will reply. You need a strategy and a solid plan in order to get replies from the people you want to talk to.
All this work costs time and money. The software/databases alone can run into the hundreds each month.
Yet the biggest cost is salaries. In the US, for instance, the average cost of a junior SDR is about $65k/year, with total cash compensation (base + incentives) a bit higher. When companies pay more aggressively or in high-cost areas (e.g., San Francisco, NYC) or in SaaS/tech, you can see OTEs (on-target earnings) and total compensation that pushes beyond $80–$100k even for more junior roles. In addition to base + variable/commission, total compensation often includes: Health insurance (medical, dental, vision), Retirement plan contributions, Paid time off and holidays, other perks: wellness stipend, remote work reimbursements, etc. These vary a lot, but together they can add somewhere between 5%–15%+ on top of base + variable, depending on the company.
So a realistic total compensation might land between $65,000 and $100,000+ per year for many junior SDRs. In high-cost regions or high-performing companies, the upper end (or above) is possible.
Don’t be fooled into thinking this is only true for the US. The same principles apply to the Rest of the World (ROW), but the numbers vary widely by region due to differences in salaries, benefits, and labor costs.
In Canada, for instance, total compensation for a junior SDR ranges from $55K–$75K, with benefits usually including healthcare coverage and lower social contributions than in the U.S. In Australia and New Zealand, compensation is typically $50K–$70K and includes superannuation (pension contributions) and standard leave.
In Latin America, for example, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina, salaries are lower at $15K–$25K, with benefits and social security varying by country, and variable pay being less common.
In India and Southeast Asia, compensation ranges from $8K–$20K, often including variable pay but with benefits varying significantly by employer. In the Middle East, such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, total compensation is typically $25K–$45K, often tax-free, and may include housing, healthcare, and travel allowances.
Going back to the previous example about the Junior SDR in the US, if 30% of this junior SDR is dedicated to new BD (lead generation), the company is effectively spending $20K–$30K per year on that SDR’s lead generation activity, depending on where total comp falls.
And, that is assuming only 1 employee is responsible for looking for new customers.
And if they leave, you have to start all over again. Replacing an SDR usually costs 30%–50% of annual compensation, sometimes more if you include recruiting costs (ads, recruiter fees, time), onboarding & training, lost productivity (new SDR takes ~3–6 months to ramp). So if a junior SDR spends 30% of their time on lead generation and leaves after 2 years, the true cost to the company is about $65K–$100K for that portion of work, once you factor in retraining.
Even with all that effort, the results can be disappointing. Recent data shows it’s getting harder to get a response:
Low response rates: The average reply rate for a cold email is around 5%. That means you have to send 20 emails just to get one response.
Emails go unseen: Many emails don't even get opened. One report found that the average open rate is dropping.
Wasted time: A lot of cold emails get no reply at all. Research shows about 95% of them go unanswered, usually because they aren't relevant to the person.
In short, the old way of doing cold outreach takes a lot of money and time for very little return. And your key employees could be using their time better on more important tasks.
Business Development in Life Sciences: In-House vs. Outsourced. Why Outsourcing Is the Smarter Way
A growing number of life science companies are finding that outsourced business development is a much better path. It lets you work with a team of experts without the high costs and low efficiency of an in-house team.
Here’s why it works:
Save money and scale up: When you outsource, you turn a high, fixed cost into a flexible one. You get a whole team for less than it costs to hire one person. This frees up money to invest in other areas of your business, like R&D or marketing. It also lets you scale up or down as you need to.
Access to a team of experts: A good outsourced partner knows the life science market inside and out. They have proven strategies and a network that can help you build your pipeline faster. This kind of knowledge is crucial in such a specific industry.
Focus on what you do best: By letting an outside team handle the early outreach, you let your in-house team focus on high-value work: nurturing warm leads, meeting with clients, and closing deals. This makes your whole company more efficient and productive.
Better results: The right partner can bring in more qualified meetings. They can use different channels like email, LinkedIn, and phone calls. One study found that using multiple channels can boost results significantly. (Link to a study on multi-channel outreach effectiveness)
Choosing the Right Partner
Not all outsourced solutions are the same. To get real value, you need a partner who is vested in your success. Be careful with "pay-per-meeting" models, as they often focus on quantity over quality.
A better option is a partnership that includes a small retainer and a bonus based on success. This way, both you and the outsourced team are working toward the same goals.
And don’t forget to do your homework. Look for companies that have a proven record in the life sciences and really understand the industry's specific rules and challenges. A partner who can help you build a winning strategy is a huge asset.
By working with the right BD partner, you can change your approach from a costly problem to a strong way to grow your business. This lets your internal team focus on the work that truly matters, while your partner delivers a steady stream of qualified leads. The result is a more efficient, cost-effective BD operation.
A lot of agencies don’t truly understand the life sciences. This is where Outbound Pharma is different. We're a team with deep experience in this industry.
Since 2017, we've helped life science companies with their outreach strategies. We don't just send emails; we use our proven tactics, network, and know-how to help you build a business development plan that actually works.
Let's talk about how to build a better business development strategy for your company.
