It's been a rollercoaster year for boutique life sciences firms and agencies - what now?

Growth, geopolitics & liquidity challenges

‍The pipeline this year has probably felt more like a theme park ride than a growth trajectory - ups, downs, and plenty of white-knuckle moments… only to end up back where you started.

Few firms are genuinely growing because clients just aren’t spending.

It's partly down to macroeconomic jitters. There's the geopolitics element - Trump-era trade wars are rattling supply chains, hiking costs of goods, and raising tax complexities.

And then there's the aftershock of the investment boom 3–5 years ago. Big money poured into drugs, medicines, and biotech… just to be squandered. Liquidity and trust have drained out of the system.

‍

Fear vs. reality - does it matter?

‍AI is the bogeyman du jour. For many in life sciences consulting, the junior-to-mid-level delivery work - data crunching, pricing analysis, report writing, comms, and content - can now be outsourced or automated for far less.

Whether this is reality or perception almost doesn’t matter. Belief shapes budgets, and the belief right now is that spend can be cut.

‍

Hopium isn’t a strategy

‍The temptation in times like these might be to bury your head and ride the “hopium” wave. Optimism is hardwired into sales DNA, after all - but it must be tempered with a clear view of pipeline quality, resourcing commitments, and tightly scoped SOWs.

Shifting from assumptions, gut feel, and historical data to forward-looking, granular intelligence is the key to survival.

If you can only prioritize a handful of metrics, make them these:

• Utilization (by individual and team)
• Margins on every proposal and SOW (minimum 50% gross)
• Live project profitability (peer review any overage above 5%)
• Pipeline velocity (are deals moving or stalling?)
• Forecasted resourcing by week, month, and quarter

‍

The seven-figure swing

‍The difference between “business as usual” and disciplined monitoring can be seven figures in EBITDA for mid-sized boutiques. Even for smaller firms, the swing runs well into six figures.

When you’ve got crystal-clear visibility on potential wins, live engagements, utilization, and margins across every client, you move from being at the mercy of the market to steering your own course.