Chiltern: Asia-Pacific expansion is essential
Spokeswoman Natalie Chong told Outsourcing-pharma the units “will offer clinical development services; primarily project management and clinical monitoring operations, as well as resourcing solutions services.
“We are also running late Phase trials in the region and expect to add additional services to compliment the mix of trials we run and to address the needs of our strong Asia Pacific client base.”
Chong explained that customer demand for trials was the key driver for the expansion and predicted that the region has all the ingredients required for continued growth.
“In addition to the acceptance of data by regulators and growing acceptance of ICH GCP and regulations facilitation processes, the size of the clinical trial population coupled with the expanding network of investigators in key therapeutic areas of interest to Chiltern makes expansion in this region an essential choice.”
She went on to say that Chiltern is assessing local acquisition opportunities and plans to set up more offices in Asia-Pacific with the Singapore unit acting as its central clinical trial management hub.
Asia-Pacific’s promise for trials
Chiltern is not the only CRO to recognise growing demand for clinical trials in Asia-Pacific. In the last six months, for example, peers like PRA, Parexel and Covance have all expanded their operations in the region.
Asia-Pacific’s attraction as a destination for trials, according to a recent report by Quintiles India CEO Ferzaan Engineer, is better access to patients, lower cost and operational efficiencies.
“From a clinical research standpoint, the region remains particularly attractive due to the availability of large pools of potential patients and motivated investigators for clinical trials.
“As biopharma companies work to minimize both time- and cost-to-market, Asia, which accounts for more than 60% of the world’s population, continues to offer significant advantages from a logistical, genetic, therapeutic and demographic perspective.”
