Safarian told Outsourcing-pharma there had been a four-fold increase in trials being conducted by contract research organisations (CRO) in a number of countries in Asia Pacific, with India, Taiwan and Novotech’s base, Australia, seeing the biggest gains.
He also predicted that, while in common with other developing clinical trial hubs like Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) the Asia Pacific market will continue to expand, the three billion potential patients in the region make it a unique opportunity for sponsors.
Safarian also suggested that factors like Asia Pacific's ethnic diversity and its reverse seasonality, with respect to the Northern hemisphere, are becoming increasingly attractive to global pharmaceutical firms keen to tap emerging pharmaceutical markets.