Why perform clinical trials in South East Asia?

Population – due to large population of the region; Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Malaysia have population of estimated 191 million; this region is often referred as powerhouse for patient recruitment. Patients have good doctor-patient relationship and high level of trust for physicians.

The regulatory environment – although quite variable among different countries within the region, regulatory environment has proven to be clinical trials friendly and supportive of the industry needs. Ethics committees adhere to ICH-GCP and international standards. The system is well established and facilitates rapid study approval and start on time. Regulatory body, for an example in Thailand, is the Thai FDA, officially organized into two main groups; Health Product Control Division and Support Division group. Due to fast and well organized procedures, approvals are granted on time and recruitment targets are met.

Quality – The region has well developed medical university system and medical training network. Many doctors have undertaken trainings abroad, especially in USA which enables them to work in accordance with international standards. For example, the Thai government has started a program for Hospital Accreditation (HA) which purpose is to bring hospital standards to highest level.

Economic advantages – throughout the region, cost for conduct of clinical trials is much lower than in Europe and USA. This is mostly due to high recruitment in planned timelines and lower salaries of the clinical trial site staff. Also, pass through costs for clinical trial monitoring and conduct such as travelling, courier cost and printing and translation has also shown to be lower. According to some data, altogether costs are 30 to 50% lower than in Europe and USA.

• Why choose SEE
• Why choose SEA

 

 

 

 

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