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European Pharmaceutical Contractor
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This is my first solo editor's letter, and my initial impression is how much is going on in our industry, and how hard it is to absorb all the current developments. At the DIA meeting in Rome this March, it was difficult to decide which of the 11 tracks to attend, and even when reporting for EPC it was a challenge to cover all that we did attend. Similarly, in this issue there are so many fascinating topics that we have struggled to fit them all in! This really highlights the extent and complexity of the drug development process.
Turning to recent news, the outbreak of SARS has preoccupied the media greatly over the last month or so. Between 1st January and 2nd May 2003, 4,864 probable cases were reported to the WHO and this figure is probably underestimated as some countries did not report cases to the WHO within this period. While searching the WHO website, I also
discovered the startling fact that 20 per cent of the world's population is at risk from malaria, with 3,000 children dying from the disease every day.
Reflecting on this, two main thoughts come to mind. First, the world's press loves stories about a 'killer bug' (although I note that SARS is already dropping from sight in the papers and television news), while it seems to be inured to the enormous number of people affected by malaria. Secondly, considering the number of years that it takes to develop a new drug, I wonder whether the drug development industry has the flexibility to respond to the challenge of developing a treatment quickly for a potentially global epidemic that might be initiated by a new virus such as SARS?
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Industry Events |
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4th Annual Patient Recruitment and Retention in Clinical Trials
13-15 October 2008, Amsterdam
Patient recruitment
is now consuming thirty percent of clinical trial time - more time than any
other clinical trial activity - and almost half of all trial delays result from
patient recruitment problems.
As the
recruiting culture becomes more sophisticated and the forces affecting patient
enrollment grow more numerous and complex, pharmaceutical companies are
striving to discover new strategies to facilitate enrollment in clinical
trials.
With
increasing industry pressure to develop, test and market greater numbers of new
drugs faster, pharmaceutical companies need to perform clinical trials as
quickly as possible. Inefficient patient recruitment processes is a formidable
barrier to pharmaceutical companies' success in launching new products.
Improving the patient recruitment process is imperative to avoid wasted
investments and eliminate costly delays in bringing new drugs to market --
today and even more so in the not-so-distant future. Improved patient
recruitment presents one of the largest opportunities for pharmaceutical
companies to eliminate delays in clinical trials, thereby making it possible to
reduce time to market. With patent time limits and large overheads
meaning that any delays in the development timeline can be disastrous, a good
understanding of how to successfully recruit patients for trials is vital for
any company looking to succeed.
More info >> |
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News and Press Releases |
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Biovian expands - and invests in new capacity
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