Asian joint clinical trials recommended at Japanese meeting of CROs

Remarks by South Korean and Taiwanese researchers specializing in clinical trials highlighted the delay in establishing the infrastructure of clinical trials in Japan at a seminar on Asian collaborative clinical trials held by Japanese leading contract research organization CMIC in Tokyo, reports the Marketletter's local correspondent.

It has recently been pointed out that one reason for the delay, and the small number of clinical trials, lies in the heavy costs of doing clinical trials in Japan. When using relative indices, the costs for medical personnel and facilities, those related to regulatory, and monitoring of Japan versus South Korea are 3.45: 1, 3.7:1, and 3.7:1, respectively, according to In-Jing Jang of Seoul National University Hospital.

The number of multinational trials in South Korea increased from 95 of 185 total studies in 2005 to 110 of 218 last year due to the short approval timeframe of 30 working days and easy recruitment of subjects, cheaper and improved infrastructures of clinical trials including facilities in Korea, according to Min Soo Park of Yonsei University Health System, also in South Korea.