PROSPECTS for the clinical research sector are expected to remain rosy in years to come but government support is imperative to boost business, a Fitch Group unit said.
Clinical research activities in the Asia-Pacific will be on the rise, with multinational pharmaceutical firms on the lookout for opportunities in emerging markets such as the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam, BMI Research said.
Developing markets are attractive to companies doing clinical research because of lower operation costs compared to developed economies such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, it said.
“Clinical research will continue to grow in the Philippines as multinational pharmaceutical firms will remain attracted to the country’s low cost base,” BMI Research said.
“The large and diverse population has also been a key positive for the country, with many companies taking advantage of this large patient pool,” it added.
But BMI Research said the number of registered clinical trials in the country went down to 40 trials in 2015 from 80 trials in 2010. About 56 percent of these were Phase III trials.
By comparison, the clinical trial registration in the Philippines in 2015 was far from the 598 registered trials in South Korea that year.
“The Philippines saw a decrease in the number of clinical trials because of a fall in Phase III studies, which are the main category of trials being conducted in the country, with most being global trials,” BMI Research said.
“Despite the improving environment for global clinical trials in the Philippines, the relative lack of government support for clinical research will impinge upon the sector’s ability to leverage these competitive advantages and fully achieve the country’s potential in pharmaceutical research,” it added.
BMI Research said the Philippines has no official strategy to support the sector, while competing hubs in the Asia-Pacific have implemented such measures.
Malaysia established Clinical Research Malaysia while South Korea has Korea National Enterprise for Clinical Trials that facilitate clinical research activities from multinational pharmaceutical firms.
The Fitch Group unit also recognized that the country’s P162.35-billion pharmaceutical industry, which is expected to expand into a P200-billion industry by 2022.
Health spending, which rose to 4.9 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017, is a factor that should favor the expansion of clinical research in the Philippines, it noted. (PNA)
