The global contract research organization (CRO), which is based in Sydney with offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Bengaluru, was granted a license to import drugs into Taiwan on behalf of sponsors for clinical trials.
This license will enable George Clinical to provide import services to small and mid-sized clinical trial clients who do not have an entity in Taiwan, as it would otherwise and previously rely on large individual pharmaceutical companies to import on its behalf.
George Clinical stated that with this license in Taiwan it can now serve as a one-stop-shop provider for sponsors looking to expand into Taiwan for trials. Before this license, George Clinical was only able to provide project and site management to its clients instead of drug management.
Additionally, George Clinical now offers drug importation for renewals and amendments, investigational medicinal product (IMP) stock management, closure and inspection after clinical study report submission, re-labeling, return and destruction.
Taiwan, and the Asia-Pacific region are growing as clinical trial locations. The region has a large and diverse patient population, CROs like Premier Research and PSI CRO have both expanded into Taiwan within the last two years.
Premier Research’s VP and head of Asia Pacific, Ashish Jain, previously told us that economic growth in the region and greater patient access to new drugs has led to an amplified demand for clinical trials. PSI CRO’s head of corporate development also told us that the country has become an important contributor to global clinical trials after it opened an office in Taipei in 2017.