Trials under threat
May 20, 2010
PEAK pharmaceutical
manufacturer group Medicines
Australia this morning warned that
Austalia’s ability to continue
attracting clinical trials is under
threat due to competition from
emerging markets such as India,
China and Russia.
MA ceo Brendan Shaw said that
the pharmaceutical industry plays a
crucial role in conducting trials in
Australia, many of which are in
collaboration with hospitals and
academic institutions.
“This has been a great
collaboration that has brought
health and economic benefits to
Australia,” he said.
However increasing competition
for R&D in other countries is
already seeing a downturn in the
number of trials conducted here.
Shaw said he hoped that the
government’s Clinical Trials Action
Group, currently co-chaired by
Parliamentary Secretary for Health,
Mark Butler, and Richard Marles,
Parliamentary Secretary for
Innovation, would be able to
remove “a number of regulatory
barriers that act like a handbrake
on clinical trials”.
He said that issues included a
lack of coordination between states
for ethical approvals of trials, as
well as outdated methods for
recruiting patients to the trials.
Shaw added that the
government’s R&D Tax Credit plan
(PD Thu) would also provide a
useful incentive for clinical trials
work in Australia.
“We need to ensure that we can
maintain and grow a sufficient level
of clinical trial activity or we risk
losing our brightest minds offshore
and seeing research facilities
close,” he warned.
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