Mexico office to bolster CRO Eurotrials' presence in Latin America

Eurotrials has opened an office in Mexico City in a bid the dominant CRO in the growing Mexican clinical research market.

The Portugal-based contract research organisation (CRO) already has a strong presence across Latin America, with offices in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, but this new office dedicated to full-service clinical operations helps tap the burgeoning Mexican market, the firm said.

“The Mexico clinical research and innovation market is becoming more dynamic due to the authorities’ willingness to make the country more attractive for R&D Investment,” a Eurotrials spokesperson told Outsourcing-Pharma.

“The country presents many advantages like a very good geographical location, the increasing of clinical research centres capabilities and qualified professionals in the field.”

Mexico’s Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risk (COFEPRIS) regulates clinical trials in the country, and in 2014 reduced the pre-approval time for clinical trials from three months to one month by decentralising clinical investigation protocols, according to a BMI Research report.

Moreover, the cost of running clinical trials in Mexico is less than in the US, and the country’s mainly-centralised population of 100 million is a further benefit for trial coordinators.

The office will become one of Eurotrials’ six main sites – the others being Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Portugal and Spain – and will specialise in strategic consulting, clinical studies conduct, project management and outcome research.

“Eurotrials has being working in Mexico since 2011,” we were told, and “making the decision to open an office for the region [presents] great opportunities for growth. This reflects Eurotrials’ approach to become a reference in the market of clinical research in Mexico.”