UK firms set sight on Indian clinical research sector

India is, currently, the second largest foreign direct investor in UK.

Drug development companies from UK are pursuing tie-ups with their Indian counterparts more actively than ever eyeing the rapidly growing clinical research outsourcing industry in India.

Drug makers from UK are looking to save considerable time and costs through off shoring clinical studies to Indian clinical research organizations (CROs), as the country offers a divergent pool of patient population across all disease categories.

Wellspring Clinical Services of UK, for example, is currently scouting for an Indian partner for possible collaborations for both inbound and outbound clinical work.

Wellspring wants its Indian partner CRO to do a part of its trials in UK or anywhere in the Europe to get easier regulatory acceptance.

By doing a major potion of the clinical trials in India, the UK-based companies can save a considerable amount of time. Since3 there is no dearth of patients in India, the recruitment timelines area far less than that of any other European countries.

Reduced timeline means a lot of cost savings for the drug maker as the human trial phase is the most cost-consuming stage in the drug development process. So, reduced timelines means reduced cost for the drug makers.

More companies are looking at conducting their trials in India since Indian population has six out of the seven genetic variations that exist.

Besides, the other overheads for conducting clinical studies in India are also very less compared to that of Europe.

Cognitive Drug Research (CDR), another UK-based CRO specializing in systems which allow clinicians to test cognitive functions in patients, also keen to set up shops in India.

“We are looking to partner with CROs and pharma companies, since India is a growing market for clinical trails,” David Strinati, business development associate at CDR was quoted as saying.

Several small and medium sized life sciences companies and academic and research institutions from the UK are also exploring collaborative opportunities in India’s pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors.

Talks for at least two key partnership ventures with Indian companies are currently in advanced stages and some more deals, which could be strategic alliances, manufacturing outsourcing or joint ventures, could be signed soon, according to Philip Kendall, senior sector manager, international biotech and pharma, UK Trade and Investment, a government agency while leading a 15-member trade delegation from the UK for a conference in Bangalore.

The team, which will visit domestic companies in Mumbai and Bangalore, has met with firms such as Biocon Ltd, Alkem Laboratories Ltd, Aristo Pharma Ltd, Indoco Remedies Ltd, Parenteral Drug Ltd, Reliance Life Sciences Ltd, Piramal Life Sciences Ltd and a few Indian clinical research organizations.

Indian pharmaceutical industry has a demonstrated and wide-ranging capability in drug manufacture and technology, besides enabling cost savings of at least 50%, Kendall said.

UK government has also announced incentives for the life sciences industry to encourage trade ties with emerging markets, he added.

Currently, India is the second largest ‘foreign direct investor’ in the UK in terms of the number of projects, outdone only by the US, according to the UK Inward Investment Results, 2008-09, released recently.

Dr Reddy’s Labs, Hyderabad acquired a small molecules business. Chennai-based Zanec Soft set up an European Union headquarters in London. IT products/services firm Virinchi Technologies, Hyderabad has opened an office in Edinburgh. Emsyne, a Kochi-based IT firm, has also set up an office in London, while Northgate Technologies acquired Reuters’ high-end data centre infrastructure, through its London-based subsidiary Axill Europe, says a press release issued by the British Deputy High Commission, Chennai.

“To cite the example of life sciences, a fifth of all medicines globally are made in the UK and 35 per cent of Europe’s biopharmaceutical clinical trials take place in the UK,” Mr Mike Connor, British Deputy High Commissioner in Southern India, stated in the release.

Shasun Chemicals, Orchid Pharma, Apollo Hospitals, Aurobindo Pharma, Clintox, Ocimum are among the companies from the South invested in FDI projects in UK during the 2008-09 period.