Apollo Hospitals Research and Education Foundation (AHERF), New Delhi in collaboration with a government regulatory body and drug industry launched a certificate course in Clinical Research. The course will cover all aspects of drug development from discovery to post marketing surveillance. It will be an 18-month course which would include 12 months of internship at the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital to train the students with the ' hands on' experience on all stages of drug development.
Prof. Ranjit Roy Chaudhury, chairman, Committee of Management at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Delhi and Prof. V S Mathur, coordinator have taken an initiative to prepare for the session commencing from July 1, 2008. Graduates in Medicine, Pharmacy, Veterinary Sciences, biotechnology, biochemistry and microbiology are eligible for the course. The interviews for admissions are scheduled on June 19, 2008 of which only 15 students would be selected.
According to the Planning Commission statistics India has bagged 139 clinical trials against 98 by China. The market value of clinical trials outsourced to India is estimated around $300 million in 2006 which is expected to touch $1.5 -2 billion by 2010. India has a large number of trained personnel to man these various research slots in the drug industry. In a bid to keep pace with the growing demand, the Apollo Group, through its education and research arm is keen to fulfill the demand of the niche segment.
Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals is the country's first Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited hospital. It is a joint venture between the Government of Delhi and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited. Built over an area of 15 acres it houses 57 specialties with over 300 specialists and has 600 operational beds, 19 operation theatres, 138 ICU beds, round the clock pharmacy, NABL accredited laboratories, 24 hour Emergency Services and an active air ambulance service. The Apollo Blood Bank is the first and the only one in the country to introduce the NAT testing of blood to enhance blood safety. The Group has also set up a new hospital Apollo Noida, a 59-bedded community hospital as part of its growth for the National Capital Region.