Clinical Research in Asia Shifting Focus to New Emerging Markets

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC--(Marketwire - Jul 19, 2011) - Clinical development teams increasingly consider a new group of smaller Asian nations instead of defaulting to established markets, such as India and China, to host sites for clinical research in Asia, according to a new study by pharmaceutical consulting firm Cutting Edge Information.

The research details clinical development trends and data from China and India as well as trials in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea and the Philippines. The study, "Emerging Markets Clinical Trials: Asia," examines strategies and best practices for addressing intellectual property concerns and benefiting from strong patient-physician relationships in these emerging markets.

Executives familiar with running clinical trials in emerging markets previously looked to India and China because of their prominence as the largest two members of the so-called 'BRICs.' Now many see the potential benefits of other Asian countries for clinical development due to each market's unique qualities.

"India and China opened the door for pharma companies to consider focusing on Asia for large parts of their clinical development strategy," said Adam Bianchi, chief operating officer at Cutting Edge Information. "Now we see a more sophisticated breakdown of country-by-country benefits and costs. Many of our benchmark partners are champions within their companies for this change of perspective."

For example, a large company profiled in the study has seen clear advantages to running trials in the Philippines. One of the company's investigational compounds received approval for a new indication supported by clinical data with 30 percent of trial patients enrolled in the Philippines. The Philippines has a relatively long history and the company found that the country's regulatory environment and medical infrastructure offer a solid base for clinical research.

"Emerging Markets Clinical Trials: Asia" provides detailed benchmarking metrics on emerging clinical research markets, including:

• Patient access
• Patient retention
• Regulatory environment
• Intellectual property laws/practices
• Cultural concerns
• Communication and language
• Clinical trial technology infrastructure
• Supply chain management
• Investigators' available knowledge base
• Data standards
• Investigator standards
• Site management standards
• Anticipated costs

For more information about managing clinical trials in Asia, or to obtain an excerpt from "Emerging Markets Clinical Trials: Asia," visit http://www.cuttingedgeinfo.com/research/clinical-development/asia-clinical-trials/ or call 919-403-6583.