Industry-sponsored clinical trials in emerging markets

The frequency of industry-sponsored trials in emerging countries is increasing at a rapid rate. In China alone, the number doubled between 2005 and 2010. It is anticipated that emerging markets will soon represent the largest market for global pharmaceutical sales.

Acceptance of the implications of this are explored in a journal article published in the latest issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

The authors, Stephen MacMahon, Anushka Patel, and Vlado Perkovic are calling for new strategies to address issues of quality and relevance in this changing environment. They discuss the need for alternative strategies to ensure probity of clinical trial results and to maximize affordability and access to new drugs in communities that participate in clinical trials of these drugs.

The authors conclude that “The last few decades have seen enormous health benefits, and vast corporate profits, flow from the results of clinical trials across a range of conditions. But, the model by which such trials are conducted must evolve if such benefits are to continue.

"There is a real risk that the next few decades will not generate the same returns unless there is adaptation to the new circumstances in which trials are conducted and recognition of the rights and expectations of communities in which trial participants live.”

To read the full article click here