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Russian Clinical Research Market Grows 20% Y/Y in 2008
26 Jun 08
The clinical research market in Russia is booming as more and more foreign pharmaceutical companies and clinical research organisations enter the market. The main attractions include low costs and fast recruitment of patients for clinical trials.
Global Insight Perspective | | Significance | The clinical research market in Russia is said to be growing by 20% annually. | Implications | Many foreign pharmaceutical companies and clinical research organisations are entering this segment of the market in a bid to cut costs and speed up the process of recruitment of patients. | Outlook | The market is expected to continue to grow and it will take some time for Russia to develop its own innovative pharmaceutical sector. |
The number of clinical trials in Russia is growing with increased interests from big pharma and global clinical research organisations (CROs), reports Polish PMR. Based on the results of a recent survey, decision makers from this segment of the pharmaceutical market expect continued growth in the clinical-trials sector in Russia. The main attractions are lower operating costs and speedy recruitment, boosted by the size of the potential trial-patient pool. Other benefits include highly qualified medical staff with over 60% of clinical investigators having a relevant PhD. The number of clinical trials in Russia has shown steady growth throughout 2006 and in 2007, except for the decline in the second quarter due to the Volgograd case. Adverse neurological events were noted in children undergoing a clinical trial conducted by U.K. pharma major GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for a potential vaccine. The ensuing investigation triggering revealed "irregularities" and a number of errors in the application of clinical protocol (see Russia: 02 April 2007: Investigation into Volgograd Trial of GSK Vaccine Finds "Irregularities"). Although the criminal case was closed, the civil case brought against GSK led to a halt in the trial and blocking the cross-border transportation of biological samples. A number of amendments to Russia's pharmaceutical law were passed as a result (see Russia: 03 July 2007: Tighter Legislation Imposed on Drug Use in Russian Clinical Trials). Despite the Volgograd case, Russia remains an attractive clinical trials destination, reflected in the subsequent number of clinical trials registered in country (see table below). The number of companies interested to enter the Russian clinical research market is growing, with the latest additions being CROs i3 Global (U.S.) and Chiltern (U.K.). Number of Approved Clinical Trials in Russia (2006/07) | | | 2006 | 2007 | Q1 | 97 | 134 | Q2 | 131 | 114 | Q3 | 138 | 141 | Q4 | 141 | 174 | Source: Roszdravnadzor, 2007.
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Outlook and Implications Increased global competition between pharmaceutical companies and the increasing costs of R&D are forcing big pharma to find alternative solutions in order to cut costs. The good climate for conducting clinical trials in Russia is expected to benefit from the recent decision by the government to invest US$3.4 billion in a new innovation project with the improvement in quality of available resources (see Russia: 24 June 2008: Russian Government Allocates US$3.4 bil. to New Federal Innovation Programme). A positive signal has come from the Russian Ministry of Health, announcing a reconstruction project in collaboration with key healthcare players such as insurers and drugs companies in the near future, in order to have a better rounded and more realistic approach to healthcare reforms (see Russia: 17 June 2008: Health Minister Promises Restructuring of Russia's Pharmaceutical Policy). Competition on the clinical research market is yet to start, with the Russian government keen to strengthen the domestic innovative drug industry. Currently the Russian pharmaceutical market is heavily dominated by foreign imports (see Russia: 28 February 2008: Pharmaceutical Imports to Russia Soar 23% Y/Y in January-September 2007). The idea is to target Russian drug-makers that have concrete plans to develop their own innovative medicines, particularly vaccines.
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