Since the mid 1980s cost pressures have driven the practice of outsourcing R&D activities, in order to cut the overhead risk of in-house/on-site R&D resourcing. This has lead to the emergence of a new corporate breed known as CROs. These companies specialize in providing one or more of: preclinical/toxicology, clinical development, analytical testing, biometrics and regulatory affairs/ quality assurance (QA) as services to pharma clients.