The US-based company only opened its first office in China, in Beijing, in May this year and the opening of the Shanghai office signifies the growth the company is experiencing in this market.
"Since our Beijing office opened in May, our services in China have been well received. Now with a location in another region of the country, Accelovance is better positioned to rapidly enroll patients and conduct trials in a cost effective manner," said >Accelovance's president and CEO Stephen Trevisan.
The proportion of pharmaceutical industry research and development (R&D) expenditure allocated to outsourcing is estimated to increase from 26 per cent, or $13.6 billion (€11.6 billion) in 2003 up to about 36 per cent, or $28 billion, by 2008.
Asian countries, especially India and China, are continuing to draw a significant share of outsourced work from developed nations and the region is expected to show strong growth owing to a large manufacturing capacity and competitive cost proposition.
However, many Western companies are still reluctant to outsource to Asia as, in addition to the language barrier, issues such as quality and infrastructure assurances and protecting intellectual property rights remain a major concern.
A recent survey conducted by Ernst & Young indicates that despite tax incentives offered by China, less than 20 per cent of pharmaceutical executives said they were investing in R &D in China.
However, by globally implementing the same standard operating procedures, research coordinator training, and proactive patient recruitment approach in China as it does in the US, Accelovance believes they can provide added quality and productivity assurances to its customers.