Though PPD already boasts a large presence in India, with offices in Mumbai, Bangalore and New Delhi, the US CRO claims its new site will further “reduce time to approval, promote quality research and create greater cost efficiencies in drug development.”
PPD believe the unit will provide biopharmaceutical companies with better access to large patient populations along with a team of qualified investigators who can manage clinical trials under ICH/GCP guidelines, thus speeding up patient enrolment and reducing time to approval.
The CRO said it will provide both infrastructure support and will assist HIHT University, the largest postgraduate institution in the northern state of Uttarakhand, with staff training. The firm believes that partner sites could contribute a high volume of patients for any study given.
According to Simon Britton, PPD’s vice president of clinical development for Asia Pacific, “India’s large patient population makes it an important country for us to continue to expand our investigative sites.”
He continued, “Expanding our access to highly trained investigators provides our clients a strong advantage for conducting clinical trials in a region that is seeing strong growth for clinical research and development.”
HIHT’s hospital boasts a 750-bed tertiary care hospital, which provides care for a range of areas including oncology, cardiology, respiratory, dermatology, neurology, nephrology, urology, orthopaedics, anaesthesiology, ophthalmology and psychiatry.
The hospital offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in medicine, and claims 1,500 patients are treated every day in its outpatient department.
Clinical trials in India on the rise
PricewaterhouseCoopers states clinical trials in India are likely to grow at an annual rate of 25-30 per cent, and locating clinical trials in India could help reduce patient enrolment time by up to 30 per cent.
Shri Vijay Dhasmana, vice chancellor of HIHT University, said, “The collaboration between PPD and HJIHT will help bring more global clinical research into this region. Our faculty will have an opportunity to participate in cutting-edge global research, and patients will benefit by having access to the latest available therapies.”
This contention fits with PricewaterhouseCoopers’ recent prediction that the number of clinical trials in India is likely to grow at an annual rate of 25-30 per cent, and the suggestion that locating clinical trials in India could help reduce patient enrolment time by up to 30 per cent.