Session one of the final day of Bio Bangalore 2009, India's premier Biotechnology event organized by the Department of Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science & Technology, Government of Karnataka, Vision Group on Biotechnology and MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications Co, addressed the prime issues of the clinical research industry and the road ahead.
Chaired by Mr. D. A. Prasanna, Vice-Chairman & MD, Ecron Acunova India, the session had panelists discussing the main problems of the clinical research industry in India and the road to sustained growth.
Dr. Anand Bidarkar, Vice-President, SIRO Clinpharm Pvt. Ltd. said the main hindrance to clinical research in India is the lack of a structured roadmap. “We have MNC CROs in India but, they limit their role to a need basis. Indian CROs need to reevaluate their business development model and understand that shortcuts don’t work”, added Dr. Bidarkar. He further said, “Exaggerated problems of India like poverty shown in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and the lack of a streamlined training course doesn’t help the cause of clinical research and industry growth.”
Dr. Anuradha Rajput, General Manager, India, ICON Central Laboratories spoke about the difficulty of analysis of clinical trials data. She laid emphasis on the need for a centralized laboratory rather than local laboratories since a central lab improves submission quality and reduces timelines. “Choosing a right central laboratory and handling the relationship effectively is vital to the successful management of clinical trials”, she added.
Dr. Vijay Chauthaiwale, Vice-President, Torrent Research Centre concluded the session by hailing India as a major hub of global clinical trials. Chauthaiwale added that Indian CROs lacked the skill of early clinical development. “The clinical trials in western countries have a low recruitment rate and are very costly”, he added, spelling hope for the Indian Clinical Industry.