The Swiss-based contract research organisation (CRO) has opened a new office in Moscow and is heralding the move as "a major step" in the continued expansion of the firm's Eastern European operations - the company also has offices in Poland, in addition to Switzerland, the US, the UK, France, the Netherlands and Israel.
According to Markus Weissbach, CEO of Hesperion, "Russia is the perfect location to complement our extensive reach to different independent states like Ukraine, Belorussia, Kazakhstan."
Furthermore, "Russia is in possession of an extensive database of investigational sites stretching from the European part of Russia to Siberia and the Far East."
Today, the practice of running clinical trials in regions like Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe is gaining in popularity as these emerging economies often provide easier, faster and more efficient access to patient recruitment, and also at a lower cost.
Russia recently came third in a list of the most attractive low-cost global locations to run clinical trials outside the US, beaten only by China and India.
According to Hesperion, its new Russian facilities will provide a range of standard CRO services, in addition to specialised facilities necessary due to the specific legal and regulatory requirements in Russia.
"The new office is staffed by experienced local contract research associates (CRAs), all of whom are doctors specialising in cardiology, oncology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, pediatrics, gynecology, and psychiatry," said the firm.
In addition, "Hesperion Russia is unique in that it has its own fully equipped medication and clinical trial materials storage facilities and offers the extra service of registration of the new medical remedies on the Russian market."