Scientists and bio-technologists from the developed world are now being viewed as potential source of experience and expertise by China and India in the business of contract research. The growing interest towards developing countries by the western  world is primarily because China and India have made efforts to strengthen their  patent laws, according to Dr Ganesh Sambasivam, co-founder and chief scientific officer, Anthem Biosciences Pvt. Ltd.

“There is an explosive growth witnessed among Contract Research Organizations (CROs) in India and China. But a visible trend is that the research personnel who worked in the US and EU are now becoming employees of CROs in China. Either they are commuting or relocating to China. However, this development is more prevalent in China than India,” he added.

Although India has the advantage of being proficient in English and with experts  trained in the US or UK, in the CRO space, it is now overtaken by China when it comes to expatriates returning home. This is because the India needs to keep pace with the global expectations. CRO companies here need to aggressively manage client expectation, comprehend needs of the outsourced assignments, create value for the customers, discuss a realistic time frame for completion, provide weekly updates  and communicate failures on-time instead of being silent on the reasons for delay.  With the CRO landscape transforming at a fast pace where along with risk sharing model, novel platforms for drug discovery are being developed, Indian companies need to comprehend the need for speed and accuracy in research delivery, lest they will be beaten by China. In the case of China, its option for global personnel expertise to deliver quality and on time completion has given it the edge over India, Dr Sambasivam told Pharmabiz at the sidelines of a recent deliberation on “What it would take for Indian CROs to achieve leadership status.”

Providing a future perspective of the contract research organizations, Dr Sambasivam said that the key drivers of the sector would be Integrated Medicinal Chemistry supported with biology and novel technologies which will serve as effective tools for drug discovery and development. “These efforts would definitely see the contract research organizations mature into contract innovation services for survival,” he said.

According to reports, global CRO business is estimated to be US$ 34 billion in 2009 of which India’s share is  a mere two percent valued at US$ 0.68 billion. Leading CROs in India include Hyderabad’s GVK Bio, Bangalore’s Jubilant Biosys, Syngene part of Biocon, Anthem Biosciences and Strides Technology & Research (STAR) apart from Mumbai-based Raptakos Brett & Co. Ltd. and Flamingo Pharmaceuticals.