Slow patient recruitment rates can have a significant impact on drugmakers as delays to the commercial launch of a drug can “cost” millions in lost revenue and effectively reduce a products patent protection.
In Japan, the world’s second largest drug market by sales, this problem is particularly severe as there is a general reluctance to participate in clinical trials which, according to Japan’s Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA), delays market launch by an average of 2.5 years compared with the US and Europe.
Company president Bonnie Brescia explained BKK’s motivation for setting up in Japan, commenting that: “Understanding the primary causes for this specific delay was the first step for BBK in exploring the Japanese marketplace.
Brescia explained that inefficient accrual, difficulties contracting sites, the attitudes of patients or referring physicians and insufficient or inaccurate enrolment planning had emerged as key factors during a survey of local pharma firms.
She added that: “when we heard these concerns, we knew that we could offer real value to the Japanese marketplace,” adding that “four of the five top reasons for [the] delay were issues that we have solved for our clients studies in more than 30 countries.”
Jeremy Buchman, who will head up the Osaka office, said that the city will serve as an excellent base for the new unit as “[it] is fast becoming the centre of Japan’s biotechnology industry.”