Life sciences organizations today are under immense pressure to innovate faster, stay compliant, and close widening talent gaps while managing increasingly complex global operations and communications. The biggest challenge amidst this pressure? Strategically determining where and how work and development get done.
From research and development (R&D) to preclinical studies and clinical trials, the life sciences industry has gone global. And global delivery models are changing rapidly in our AI-accelerated world.
Traditional delivery models—once a clear-cut decision based on cost and scale—are being reexamined. To stay ahead, companies need to look beyond traditional onshore vs. offshore models towards a right-shoring strategy.
Let’s take a look at the evolving dynamics of global outsourcing in life sciences and assess how organizations can build smarter, more resilient delivery solutions.
The Traditional Delivery Model Is Breaking—Here’s Why
To understand why life science companies need to make changes on a global scale, we first need to look at how the industry is shifting.
Speed to Delivery
Innovation cycles are accelerating. Whether it’s launching a new biologic or scaling a decentralized trial, delays can mean losing your competitive advantage. Shoring models that lack agility or alignment will slow progress.
Clinical & R&D Talent Gaps
The global shortage of skilled life sciences professionals is real and growing. Job growth resumed in early 2025 after a drop in 2024 but fell again in April 2025, showcasing market vulnerabilities on top of the talent shortage.
According to independent research from CCRPS and the Life Sciences Workforce Collaborative, demand for clinical research associates and regulatory specialists continues to outpace supply, with trial activity growing faster than workforce capacity and turnover rates exceeding 25% in key roles.
Regulatory Pressure
New technologies like generative AI and digital biomarkers are triggering fresh scrutiny from regulators. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and the United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) each navigate compliance differently.
The introduction of AI into drug development layers complexity into intricate global approval processes. Teams must be equipped not just to execute, but to understand and adapt to evolving compliance landscapes.
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What’s Working—and What’s Not—in Global Life Sciences Delivery Models
Whether a company leans on offshore, onshore, nearshore, or right-shore models, each approach carries unique risks and rewards. Life sciences organizations must critically determine which delivery strategy best supports their goals for speed, compliance, and patient care.
What Is Right-Shoring?
Rather than acting as a one-size-fits-all delivery model, right-shoring is a global delivery strategy that complements onshoring. It aligns supply chain costs, development locations, and talent gaps to create the most efficient delivery system for a company. Offshoring or nearshoring can be included within this strategy, but only the options that most effectively drive business.
Offshore Delivery
Offshore solutions have long been a go-to for scaling operations and reducing costs. But in life sciences, the stakes are higher. Offshore teams often face challenges that can directly impact regulatory compliance, clinical trial integrity, and speed to market.
Some of the key challenges affecting offshore success today are:
- Regulatory Complexity: From GDPR and HIPAA to evolving AI governance frameworks, compliance is a strategic imperative. Offshore teams may lack the local regulatory fluency needed to meet standards.
- Communication Barriers: Time zone differences, language nuances, and asynchronous workflows can lead to misalignment. In clinical and R&D environments, even small communication gaps can result in costly delays or data integrity issues.
- Talent Gaps: While offshore markets offer access to large talent pools, they may lack depth in specialized life sciences roles, particularly in clinical operations, biostatistics, and regulatory affairs. This can lead to longer ramp-up times and increased risk in high-stakes projects.
Onshore Delivery
For many life sciences leaders, onshore delivery is the gold standard for roles and projects requiring close collaboration. Onshore—vs. offshore—teams offer proximity, shared language and culture, and deep domain expertise, which are especially valuable in regulated environments.
While onshoring can sometimes incur higher costs and limit scalability—particularly in emerging areas like AI-enabled diagnostics—those costs can be worth it when global supply chains face emergencies. The post-pandemic world shows that onshoring remains key to patient care and the availability of medications. The biggest challenge for companies moving their operations to onshore manufacturing will be navigating global compliance and supply chain changes.
Nearshore Delivery
Nearshore delivery typically involves teams in neighboring or nearby countries. It can reduce time zone friction and improve cultural alignment while offering cost advantages over onshore models. For companies in the U.S., nearshoring might happen in Canda, Mexico, Brazil, or other South and Central American companies.
Depending on the country, nearshore is not always a fit. Regulatory alignment, language proficiency, and talent specialization vary widely across nearshore regions. However, nearshoring can strategically complement both onshore and offshore models, particularly for roles in data management, pharmacovigilance, or digital health enablement.
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Where Do Functional Service Providers Fit In?
As global delivery models continue to evolve, Functional Service Providers (FSPs) are a strategic middle ground between traditional staffing and full-service outsourcing. For life sciences organizations navigating complex clinical trials, regulatory landscapes, and talent shortages, FSPs offer a flexible, scalable way to outsource specific functions without relinquishing control over strategy or quality.
Unlike full-service clinical research organizations (CROs), which manage entire studies end-to-end, FSPs embed specialized teams into areas such as:
- Clinical monitoring
- Data management
- Biostatistics
- Regulatory affairs
- Pharmacovigilance
This model allows sponsors to retain oversight while gaining access to deep expertise and operational agility. It’s particularly effective in hybrid delivery environments, where onshore leadership is paired with offshore or nearshore execution.
Building Smarter Global Life Science Solutions
Global delivery in life sciences is no longer a binary decision. It’s a strategic lever that can ultimately reduce risks and unlock new partnerships and capabilities.
So what does a modern global delivery model look like?
- Hybrid Teams: Combining onshore leadership with offshore execution and nearshore support to balance cost, quality, and speed
- Embedded Compliance: Integrating regulatory expertise into delivery teams from day one
- Real-Time Collaboration: Leveraging tools and workflows that enable seamless communication across geographies
- Strategic Talent Sourcing: Going beyond staffing to build cross-functional teams aligned to business outcomes
At this point, many life sciences organizations are asking: How do we evolve our delivery model without compromising compliance, speed, or innovation? This is where strategic partnerships come into play.
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A Strategic Partner in Global Delivery
Insight Global works with leading pharma, biotech, clinical research and manufacturing, and medical device companies to design and deliver international life science solutions that go beyond staffing. As a trusted FSP, we build purpose-driven teams and flexible delivery models that integrate seamlessly into your operations, whether onshore vs. offshore or somewhere in between.
Alignment across teams, timelines, and regulatory frameworks is key to success in life sciences moving forward. If you’re ready to explore what smarter global delivery can look like in your organization, reach out to our experts to start a conversation today.
Partner With Life Sciences Experts at Insight Global
Questions? Call us toll-free: 855-485-8853
by Emilie Skaug 
