Veeda Clinical Research and Kitasato University have jointly conducted a one-day seminar on the co-development of drugs. The two sessions of the seminar were chaired by Dr Maurice Cross, Veeda’s Group Medical director and professor Yuji Kumagai of the Kitasato University.

The meeting was attended by leading companies of the Japanese pharmaceutical industry. Professor Yasuhiko Ikeda of Kitasato East University Hospital and professor Shunsuke Ono, University of Tokyo highlighted the differences in drug usage and prescribing practice between Japan and the West.

According to professor Hiuroshi Watanabe, Hammamatsu Medical School trials of drugs carried out in the West suggested that the drugs had ‘failed’ to treat their target conditions but the same drugs had worked in Japanese patients. Radiological scans were shown to prove that effective cancer remission induced in Japanese patients by drugs deemed ineffective in the West. Therefore Japan had to participate in global studies or potentially useful drugs of value to the Japanese patient pool might not be evaluated in environment where they work, he added.

On the UK contribution of Veeda Clinical Research, Dr Prashil Koovejee provided an overview of the newer formats for early evaluation of drugs which have become available to researchers in the West through regulatory changes enabling drugs to be brought to the clinic much earlier with fewer animal tests.

Dr Richard Taylor, also of Veeda Clinical Research described the regulatory framework necessary for introducing Japanese drugs to the western clinical trials market.

Dr Maurice Cross said that the joint seminar with a Japanese University demonstrated Veeda’s long term commitment to becoming the leading early clinical development CRO in that whole region. With our extensive commitment to both clinics and laboratories in India and now in Ampang Hospital in Malaysia and the agreement with Kitasato University to collaborate for the long-term on conducting trials, Veeda is positioned as the leading player in these evolving markets, he added.