The Georgia, US-based company cite improvements in Latin American healthcare legislation and an increase in qualified and knowledgeable trial supervisors as significant factors behind its decision.
“Latin American has become one of the most prominent clinical trial locations,” said Gail Adinamis, founder and CEO of GlobalCare, “The standard of medical training in Latin America is high and, due to improvements in the countries' regulatory legislation, investigators are knowledgeable in good clinical practice (GCP) and International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) practices.”
She explained the firm would continue with the policy of expanding its networks into emerging markets, based on client demands.
Local knowledge
Adinamis claims that by employing local investigators in the region, GlobalCare will benefit from individuals who already have in-depth knowledge of local medical practices and cultural attitudes. However, she stresses improved legislation and a willing workforce are not the only driving factors behind its decision to enter the Latin American market.
“There are also large numbers of drug-naive subjects,” she explained. “Thus it made sense to extend GlobalCare's services into this region, cost-effectively delivering high quality and flexible clinical trial services to patients in convenient settings like their home or office.”
Recruitment time
GlobalCare now employs 20,000 travelling physicians and nurses, and maintains a presence across Europe, North America, Australia and the Middle East. The company says this rapid growth was spurred by a 50 per cent reduction in recruitment time and a 95 per cent increase in subject retention rate. Adinamis believes this growth is set to continue.
“As industry demand increases for accelerated patient enrolment and streamlined study processes on a global basis, we will continue to expand our network to facilitate the timely and successful completion of clinical trials across biopharmaceuticals, while providing important return on investment for sponsors,” said Adinamis.