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Plan early, stay ahead: why drafting your clinical development plan (CDP) early matters
The critical role of early CDP for small and emerging pharma and biotech companies
Mayra Durand, Associate director, Development Analytics, Regulatory Affairs and Drug Development Solutions, IQVIA
Ian Fisher, Senior Director, Design Analytics, Regulatory Affairs and Drug Development Solutions, IQVIA
May 02, 2025
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  • Plan early, stay ahead: why drafting your clinical development plan (CDP) early matters

Uncertainty, risk, financial constraints, limited human resources, and investor pressure—do these challenges sound familiar? Unfortunately, this is a common situation for small and emerging pharma and biotech companies with promising pipeline assets. This situation might make them think twice before investing and make them deprioritize a key tool that can help them make important decisions moving forward. This tool is a well-established clinical development plan (CDP).

And what is a CDP? A clinical development plan (CDP) is a dynamic, strategic document that outlines the progression of a clinical development program from preliminary research to conclusive studies. It serves as a roadmap for the development of a new drug or medical device, detailing the necessary steps to ensure regulatory compliance, optimize resource allocation, and mitigate risks.

Many small and emergent pharma and biotech companies often delay the creation of a CDP until they have positive data, but this decision can backfire. Having a CDP as early as possible and keeping it updated, helps them ensure they have a clear objective, and that every planned action in their roadmap is aligned with achieving that goal.

Truly valuable CDPs are scenario driven and bring clarity for timelines, key milestones, endpoint strategy, regulatory strategy, statistical modeling, study design concept, interim decision points, risks and contingencies, and alignment to strategic goals.

In an environment where every dollar, euro, yen and yuan needs to be efficiently invested to maximize the probability of making the right decisions, early CDP planning can ensure:

  • Potential pitfalls are identified as early as possible: to have better chances of mitigating any risk of failure and increasing the likelihood of success.
  • Cost efficiency: optimizing resource allocation and reduce overall costs, to avoid unnecessary trials and delays.
  • Regulatory compliance: even though a CDP is not a mandatory document, regulators demand a general investigational plan. A CDP can streamline the approval process as it can show regulators how well prepared the company is, knowing where they are with their product, where they want to be and how.
  • Boost investors’ confidence: a CDP can help companies articulate their product vision and present a compelling development story, to make sure investors know what to expect.
  • Flexibility: by establishing an early CDP and updating it consistently, companies can better adapt to new clinical data and evolving scientific insights.

In conclusion, for small and emerging biotech and pharma companies, while resources are tight, an early CDP should be considered a strategic imperative, and not a luxury. It can act as a roadmap to navigate the complexities of drug development, ensuring all the planned actions are focused on achieving the key goals, attracting investors with a clear vision and satisfying regulators with meticulous planning.

By proactively addressing risks and optimizing resources, the CDP significantly increases the chances of bringing innovative therapies to patients and achieving sustainable success.

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