PRA International opens office in Korea

PRA International has opened up a new office in South Korea to manage clinical trials. It has been conducting trials in the area since 2005, but mostly through local partners.

Edward Ian, who is director of PRA’s Asia-Pacific efforts stated:
"Increasing customer expectations and project needs have prompted us to establish a legal entity and a local team of clinical professionals. We anticipate significant growth of our operations in South Korea in the next few years to conduct clinical studies across a wide array of therapeutic indications, including oncology, neurology, respiratory disorders, infectious diseases and cardiovascular, endocrinology and metabolic disorders.”

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How to find the best cost-effective treatments

According to Red Orbit, Congress has allotted $1.1 billion to begin finding the best treatments for certain ailments that are also cost-effective. A report came out addressing the top 100 medical issues addressed by Congress. The report said this of clinical trials:

“Clinical research provides health care providers with information on the natural history of disease, clinical presentations of disease, and diagnostic and treatment options,” according to the report.

“All too often, the information necessary to inform these medical decisions is incomplete or unavailable, resulting in more than half of the treatments delivered today without clear evidence of effectiveness.

“This uncertainty contributes to great variability in managing clinical problems, with costs and outcomes differing markedly across the country.”

New regulations from the Indian government

BNet is reporting that the Indian government may soon impose new regulations on clinical research outsourcing to its country, as well as create a Central Drug Authority to monitor clinical trials that are outsourced by North American and European Countries. It would look to protect patients in CROs in regions such as India, China and Africa. For more, read the article here.