PSI Makes Further Inroads into Italy, South Africa and India

04-Sep-2013 - Last updated on 05-Sep-2013 at 09:04 GMT

Full-Service CRO PSI is expanding into Italy, South Africa and India as part of a push to gain a more global presence for clients.

PSI has been working in all three countries “for a number of years and it's time to formally settle in and start growing roots,” Olga Alfonsova, head of business development for PSI, told Outsourcing-Pharma.com. “All regions are prominent contributors on the clinical trial arena and hold many opportunities.”

Italy

The new operational office in Milan, Italy, announced late last month, will further expand PSI’s presence in Europe and give the company the ability attract and recruiting top talent in the industry.

PSI has been placing clinical trials in Italy for a number of years on behalf of pharmaceutical and biotech sponsors.

“Italy is a big market and many sponsors want recognition on this market early on, so ask to take their clinical trials there,” Alfonsova told us. “In some indications, such oncology and haematology, we have seen strong patient enrolment contribution from our Italian sites.”

South Africa

PSI will also expand into South Africa, as well as offer access to all African countries from the strong base in Pretoria. PSI’s current experience in South Africa stretches across the areas of oncology, CNS, urology, diabetes and other therapeutic areas.

“South Africa offers highly motivated investigator community, reasonable start-up timelines and speedy patient enrolment in a vast variety of indications,” Alfonsova said. “Typically, people think of SA for HIV studies, but PSI has had positive experience in a variety of therapeutic areas. Who would've thought, for example, that diabetes studies are being widely spread across South Africa, reporting high patient enrolment rates and potential.”

India

As for India, the company said its decision to conduct trials there is based on client demand. PSI also recently announced the appointment of Dr. Radhika Bobba as Regional Director for India and the Asia-Pacific region.

The PSI Indian base is serving as the hub for continuous expansion into the entire Asia-Pacific region.

Alfonsova added: “We all know that currently the clinical trial environment in India is temporarily dormant. However, PSI is all about finding and nurturing talent. We are proud of our operational people in India and see this office grow and develop as a hub enabling PSI's smooth expansion into Asia.”