The strategic partnership allows Radiant to offer Pharma industry sponsors the option of adding Indian sites to global trial programmes through Spectrum’s seven-strong network of centres.
Julie McHugh, Radiant’s VP of late-phase clinical research, lauded the quality and record tracking systems in place at Spectrum which she believes will help sponsors improve the monitoring of trials in the country.
McHugh added that integration of Spectrum’s network with Reliant’s chain of 24 US research centres will help sponsors manage entire trial programmes through a single contract, which she claimed would reduce costs considerably.
Spectrum medical director Viral Shah was also positive about the partnership, which he said will aim to provide pharmaceutical trial sponsors both “global quality with [a] local touch,”
Dr Shah opined that the combination of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved clinical trial standards and Spectrum’s knowledge of local culture will a distinct advantage in terms of patient recruitment.
This idea is leant further support by obvious similarities in the way the firms use health campaign data to screen patients and build up information sets ahead of the commissioning of a particular trial.
The strategic synergies extend to the types of trials the two firms have undertaken to date, which include those for asthma and allergy drugs, endocrinology treatments, and cardiology medications among others.
Radiant’s decision to partner with Spectrum and focus on the trial sector in India, as opposed to in Eastern Europe where the market is also expanding, is unsurprising given that the firm was bought by New Delhi-based ICICI Venture in June 2007.
The Spectrum partnership is very much in keeping with comments made by ICICI investment director Srinivasa Rao when the buy out went through. Rao said that the intention was to build Reliant’s presence in multiple global markets.
Radiant did not respond to Outsourcing-Pharma’s request for additional information.