India Times: Recession not to hit clinical trials: CROs

The Economic Times

The $200-million Indian clinical research outsourcing market will reach up to $600 million by 2010, according to a joint study done by research firm KPMG and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in September this year. “Credit restrictions will prompt global biotech companies to see greater favour in outsourcing clinical trials to India,” Partner- Healthsciences Practice, Ernst & Young India, Ajit Mahadevan said. While the cost of clinical trials vary on the basis of complexity and disease segment, a simple trial in India can cost 15-20% of the US price, while a more sophisticated trial—involving imaging systems—may be 50-60% of the US price. Studies suggest that R&D expenditure is increasing by 15% per year, making global biopharmaceutical companies look for cheaper options. India scores high due to faster enrollments, speed of completion, large and diverse patient pool as well as increasing private healthcare network.

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More than money drives clinical trials outside of the US

In a recent article at Bioresearch Online, they say that conducting clinical trials in India is 44% less expensive than conducting clinical trials in the US. Cutting Edge Information research states that a clinical trial in the US would cost$125 million while only $70 million in India. Other factors pushing researchers out of the US is better patient recruitment and retention outside of the US. Find out more here.

Getting Global: A Focus on China

Huebei Province, China
The Rise in HIV/Aids cases among Chinese Citizens dramatically decreased from 49% to 8% following an influx of standardized Rapid Antiretroviral Therapy.
Antiretroviral drugs are broadly classified by the phase of the retrovirus life-cycle that the drug inhibits. This sort of success in China can be repeated if patients are given access to proper medical care. In order to do so, one must look at the types of clinical research being done in China and the ways that clinical research can improve despite difficulties with cost, patient retention and properly equipped staff:

Sources:
Wikipedia,
Health Affairs.
Clinical Trials in China