This is an excerpt from From Wall Street Beats to Biotech Breakthroughs — Dean’s journey from DJ booths and banking to leading AI-driven clinical trial innovations (Part 5/6).

In this episode, host René Bastón, Venture Partner at Covenant Venture Capital, explores with Dean Zheng, Clinical Outsourcing Professional at Pfizer, how pharma companies are rethinking their relationships with vendors.

Dean breaks down the pros and cons of in-house, fully outsourced, and hybrid Functional Service Provider (FSP) models. He explains why a hybrid approach—embedding vendor talent within sponsor teams—offers transparency, faster turnaround times, and reduced risk, especially for smaller biotech firms.

Tune in for valuable insights on:

The benefits and drawbacks of different vendor models

How hybrid FSP partnerships drive efficiency

Reducing risk while maintaining quality in clinical trials

You can connect with our host, René Bastón, on LinkedIn:

And our guest, Dean Zheng, on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dean-mingyang-zheng-0ab336108/

For more information on any of the topics discussed, visit the Hill Research Podcast at: