Contract and clinical research organizations (CROs) in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region are increasingly being leveraged by the biopharma industry to counter challenges of recession, patent expiry, rising R&D costs and dwindling productivity. BioSpectrum along with CyberMedia Research (CMR), a premier market research firm that specializes in competitive intelligence, advisory and consulting for life sciences and healthcare in the APAC region, carried out the '4th Annual BioSpectrum-CMR Survey' of contract and clinical research organizations (CRO) 2012, with an objective to capture the key trends in the CRO domain in the region.

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This year's survey shows that CROs are being leveraged by the industry for research insights into value, pipeline and processes. CROs are also benefiting from a good understanding of sponsors' systems, metrics, key expectations and work culture, which enable them to reduce drug development timelines, set-up costs and start-up time. The contract manufacturing industry in APAC is one of the fastest growing segments and is set to receive a boost in the coming years. There will also be an intense competition between APAC and Eastern Europe will emerge as the most-favored region for contract manufacturing.

APAC continues to dominate 

Cost-effectiveness and the vast patient population seem to be the key driving reason. It is interesting to note that some others have preferred APAC for the readily available manpower with highly developed technical skills for quicker turnaround time in development. For some others, state-of-the-art infrastructure is one of the key reasons for focusing on APAC. However, uncertain regulatory hurdles are the biggest bottlenecks for clinical trials. Regulatory hurdles can be varied, ranging from clinical trial approval processes to requirements for marketing applications, logistics and transportation, and handling of biologic materials.
Click here to see why CROs choose APAC

India, China are hotspots for patient recruitment and trials

Unlike the west, APAC has been a fertile ground for patient recruitment, as the willingness among patients to participate is high, which can be traced to the large available patient pool. In addition, lifestyle and stress-related diseases are increasing rapidly amongst the Asian population, owing to increasing adoption of a western lifestyle. According to the survey respondents, China (19 percent) and India (26 percent), with their vast population, are the two key countries where the willingness to participate in clinical trials is high, followed by South Korea (15 percent).
Click here to see the hotspots for clinical trials in APAC

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