Ashish Jain, Premier Research VP and head of Asia Pacific, said significant reforms in the Asia-Pacific region have affected the conduct of clinical trials and aim to minimize the gap between new drug therapies introduced in Asia-Pacific versus in Western countries.
“Economic growth in the region has coincided with greater health care spending and greater patient access to new drugs, amplifying demand,” he told us.
According to the contract research organization (CRO), which operates ion 84 countries, the expansion provides greater access to patients.
"Given this changing regulatory environment coupled with access to large and treatment-naïve patient population, the region is increasingly playing host to clinical trials for therapies developed by the industry’s innovators, small and mid-size biotech companies,” he said.
The company also is increasing its activities in Australia and New Zealand.
Jain added, “We are also seeing many up and coming specialty pharma companies emerging across Asia, and they need partners with the right experience to guide them through the increasingly complex global drug development process.”
The CRO also acquired Regulatory Professionals earlier this year, establishing a new regulatory services division in response to customer demand.