MDS Rostrum, the UK-based clinical research organisation (CRO) is all set to grab a substantial share of the Indian biotech and pharma research market. The company has initiated dialogues with leading companies in the country to highlight the advantages of its skill, knowledge and experience to conduct clinical trials that lead to regulatory approvals. Names of the companies were not disclosed.

The company, which is a division of MDS Pharma Services, handles phase II to IV outsourcing in biopharmaceuticals. MDS Rostrum is ranked third globally after Quintiles and Covance out of the 1500 CROs worldwide, stated Brain Swindley, director Rostrum during his recent visit to India.

CROs today need therapeutic expertise, functional expertise and process expertise that would enable smooth trial management and patient recruitment.

The advantages of a large CRO over a small company is that the former has the global coverage, technical expertise, ample experience, adept at standard procedures, equipped with trained staff and back up service support. The major disadvantages for Indian companies to opt for small CROs while outsourcing clinical trails would be that it is expensive, inflexible, poor access to patient population, pointed out Swindley.

MDS is confident of making a significant impact on the Indian market with outsourcing being a major business strategy for most companies here. Currently biotech outsourcing in India is valued at $120 billion. Out of this $ 50 million is raised from contract research and the remaining is from clinical research. In addition, a new concept known as Research Process Outsourcing (RPO) has also emerged. Biotech outsourcing from India is growing at a rate of 75 percent and is estimated to touch $ 1 billion, he stated.

Worldwide outsourcing in research and development expenditure made by companies is valued at $ 40 billion, but India cannot be compared any where near the global spend in contract research. “However, we are sure that India will soon be a part of the global contract research outsourcing hub because of its skilled scientific pool backed by IT expertise," he stated.