India is expected to host 30% of the world's contract research within the next 10-15 years, driven by the attractions of low cost and high quality standards, says the India Brand Equity Foundation, IBEF. The IBEF quotes a McKinsey forecast for the value of pharmaceutical clinical trial outsourcing in India at $1.23 billion by 2010. This would represent 7% of the total world market, projected by Biopharm at $18.5 billion in 2010.
India offers a huge cost advantage in clinical trials compared with Western countries. A multinational company moving R&D to India could save as much as 30-50%, IBEF says. Indian companies can conduct clinical trials at less than one-tenth of US costs.
The US National Institutes of Health trial registry (www.clinicaltrials.gov)
Several western CROs, including Aptuit (US), Synergy Research Group (Russia) and ethica Clinical Research (Canada), have formed alliances or joint ventures with their Indian counterparts in recent months. Others, such as Parexel, have opened new offices in the country. Investment has also flowed in the opposite direction, with US CROs Radiant Research and Taractec both being acquired by Indian groups this year (Biopharm Development News passim).
