(SEOUL=Newsis News) Korea is gaining attention as a global industrial hub for commissioned clinical trials.
Korea is one of the most popular countries in the world to carry out clinical trials for developing new pharmaceutical drugs. Complete with excellent medical experts and infrastructure that includes large-scale facilities, Korea has gained a reputation for carrying out successful clinical trials, and thereby is becoming an increasingly attractive place for multinational pharmaceutical companies to commission clinical trials.
Especially, the clinical trial industry has become a promising sign for multinational drug companies and top global contract research organizations (CROs), such as Quintiles, ICON and Parexel, to use as an entryway into the Korean market.
According to the Korea National Enterprise for Clinical Trials (KoNECT) on Feb. 2, the greatest number of clinical trials took place in Seoul.
Based on data from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) global clinical trial registration website, KoNECT looked into the top 30 cities where clinical trials took place around the world, and found that the clinical trial rate in Seoul was 1.03%, ranking the city no. 1 along with Houston, Texas.
The "Current State of Clinical Trial Plan Approvals," listing approvals given by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) during the 9 years from 2007 to 2015, also shows that 11,870 trials took place in Seoul, amounting to 55.2% of the total amount (21,505 trials). Including the trials that took place in the neighboring City of Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, it becomes evident that 16,181 trials, or 75.24% of the national total, have been approved and carried out in the greater Seoul area.
Institutions that execute the trials are also concentrated in Seoul. Of the total 156 clinical trial institutions in Korea, 87 (55.8%) are located in Seoul or Gyeonggi Province.
According to a source from KoNECT, "One matter worth noting is that of the 972 trials carried out by hospitals from 2007 to 2015, 672 trials (67%) took place at the so-called "Big 5" hospitals, including Seoul National University Hospital," adding, "Over half of all trials are concentrated in Seoul."
There was also a great increase in clinical trials commissioned by multinational pharmaceutical companies that will use the data to develop drugs to be supplied to the entire world, with 296 taking place in 2015, whereas such trials were nonexistent in 2000.
According to the market research firm Modor Intelligence, the global market of multinational clinical trials, worth USD 14.2bn (approx. KRW 16.4tn) in 2015, is expected to grow 7.5% each year, and reach USD 22bn (approx. KRW 25.4tn) by 2021.
By country, Korea took up 2.52% of the global market, ranking no. 12. As usual, U.S. at 9.06% ranked no. 1, followed by Germany, the U.K., Canada and France, in that order. Korea's ranking has steadily increased from no. 19 in 2011.
Meanwhile, a total of 209,390 trials were registered at the U.S. NIH from 2000 to 2015.
Of those, the U.S., with 91,094 trials, registered the highest number, followed by Europe (58,661), East Asia (26,150) and Canada (14,953). Especially, in East Asia Korea ranked no. 2 with 6,943 registered trials, closely following China's lead of 7,274.
As such, regarding Korea's rise as a leading hub for clinical trials, experts believe it is because the country is home to outstanding medical specialists, a diverse group of patients willing to participate in the trials, and a sound infrastructure including a highly effective clinical trial system.
Another advantage is the concentration of the country's "Big 5" hospitals (Seoul National University Hospital, ASAN Medical Center, Severance Hospital, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital), making it easier to collect data from the trials.
According to the KoNECT source, "In Korea, reliable clinical trial data can be collected in a relatively short period of time, because it is possible to simultaneously submit approvals from both the MFDS and the relevant institutional review board (IRB), shortening the duration to prepare for each trial, and a large percentage of patients are willing to undergo such trials," adding, "Another strength is that the concentration of large-scale clinical trial centers in large cities such as Seoul enables the quick recruitment of patients.
you@newsis.com
Copyrights Newsis News. All Rights Reserved.
Source: Newsis News (Feb. 2, 2017)