CTI opens new office in Spain
The US-headquartered contract research organisation (CRO) said that drug industry demand for trials in Spain is driven by the quality of the available trial sites and the calibre of the research staff available.
In a press statement Timothy J. Schroeder, CTI CEO, said: “Our therapeutic areas mesh well with the type of research conducted in Spain and our new office will help us better meet the needs of our sponsors.”
CTI focuses on critically and chronically ill patient populations in the specific disease areas of solid organ transplant, hepatitis, infectious disease, hematology/bone marrow transplant and end-stage organ disease including cardiovascular disease, liver disease and kidney disease.
The Spanish move differs from CTI most last geographic expansion when, in May last year, the firm partnered with Akron Clinical to form a Latin America research joint venture.
Spanish research
CIT’s observation about growth of the clinical research sector in Spain is in keeping with the findings of recent research by Patrick Bohan of Barcelona-based Harrison Clinical Research.
Bohan and his colleague Ouadah Hadjebi, from UK firm Biocompatibles International, analysed research in Spain and found that, in the period 2002 to 2008, investment in clinical research nearly doubled to €453m ($672m).
In addition, the team looked at research staff available in Spain and found that there is a large pool of qualified researchers many of whom outsource their services as a result of consolidation in the country’s pharmaceutical sector.
They also suggest that government initiatives such as CARI and INNCORPORA are making Spain’s research sector a more flexible place to work and attracting researchers to the country.
These factors, coupled with the large number of private hospitals and the high urban population density, have been key to the growth of Spain’s research sector, according to the authors.
