As part of restructuring its clinical trial operations, the Chennai based Apollo Hospitals will merge its site management unit Spectra Clinical Research Centre (SCRC) with Apollo Hospital's Educational and Research Foundation (AHERF) by next month.

The entire programmes of the foundation, including educational programmes will be coordinated and facilitated from Chennai.

Focusing the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, government programmes and the projects from Universities both domestic and foreign, the foundation is planning to undertake clinical research projects. The foundation will also attempt collaborative research, epidemiological studies, genomic studies and translational research, revealed Jayanthi Swaminathan, clinical project manager, AHERF. At present clinic trial related to cardiac diseases, oncology, neurology, infectious diseases, nephrology, diabetes etc are going on.

The Apollo hospital group with a view to strengthen its clinical research programmes has come out with a roadmap of its research projects for the next five to ten years. The road map is being finalized. The initial projects would be related to cutting edge technology, epidemiological studies, and clinical research both in Ayurveda and allopathy and development of human resources.

Apollo hospitals in collaboration with US based Johns Hopkins hospital will be initiating an India - Asia study on cardio vascular diseases by April 2007. The documentation for the same has been started. In the case of clinical research in Ayurveda, AHERF has asked for the guidelines from authorities concerned and the research is expected to start by next year.

Also, AHERF is holding discussion with interested partners for initialising stem cell therapy in Apollo hospitals, as a research programme. By the end of the financial year it is expected to commence, said Jayanthi.

SCRC is also planning to open its centres in Bangalore and Mysore. The new centre, which would come in 1000 sq. feet space, will take care of the documentation activities. "The centre would become functional by February or March 2007. We have been receiving enquires for clinical trials but we are not taking any at present as we have not yet become fully operational there," said Jayanthi