The office, which will be a wholly owned entity with local staff, is Novotech’s ninth office in Asia, including China, India, Australia, Taiwan and Korea.
The main driver for the new office is feedback and demand from US and EU customers of Novotech, according to CEO Alek Safarian. “China spends $63bn on pharmaceuticals annually so biotechs and pharma companies are naturally keen to establish a presence early in the development pipeline,” said Safarian.
This is the latest move by Novotech since it expanded into South Africa last January. Safarian previously told us that US biotech opportunities drove that expansion. The company had previously been running trials through consultants for three years in South Africa.
Sites added in Hong Kong and the Philippines in July 2013 by Novotech were also the result of US biopharma interest in running more trials in Asia.
Novotech Asia COO John Moller said China is now the largest clinical trial destination in Asia, and the fifth largest in the world.
“China’s increasingly sophisticated clinical trial infrastructure and its 1.36 billion population with a high incidence of chronic diseases, makes it a compelling choice for our EU and USA biotech and pharma clients,” said Moller. “The sheer numbers and scale in China is unprecedented. We are seeing hospital-based clinical trial units with up to 4,000 beds.”
Moller also said he was encouraged by China’s commitment to growing its research sector with an $18bn funding allocation for biotech and pharma as part of its five-year plan.
But Novotech isn’t the only CRO looking to take advantage of the boom in clinical research in China. Charles River Laboratories recently expressed interest in M&A in China, while local companies, such as Wuxi, continue to seek out new opportunities in the region.