Gov’t support sought to grow clinical research in PH

BMI Research said Wednesday that the clinical research activities in Asia Pacific will be on the rise, with multinational pharmaceutical firms on the lookout for opportunities in emerging markets, such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam. (Shutterstock)

MANILA — Prospects for the Philippines’ clinical research sector is expected to remain rosy in years to come, but government support is imperative to boost business, a Fitch Group unit said in its study.

BMI Research said Wednesday that the clinical research activities in Asia Pacific will be on the rise, with multinational pharmaceutical firms on the lookout for opportunities in emerging markets, such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

It added that developing markets are attractive to companies doing clinical research because of lower operation costs relative to developed economies, such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.

“Clinical research will continue to grow in the Philippines as multinational pharmaceutical firms will remain attracted to the country’s low cost base. The large and diverse population has also been a key positive for the country, with many companies taking advantage of this large patient pool,” the BMI Research read.

It also recognized that the country’s PHP162.35 billion pharmaceutical industry, is expected to expand into a PHP200-billion industry by 2022. Health spending, which reportedly rose to 4.9 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017, are also factors that should favor the expansion of clinical research here.

However, BMI Research noted that the number of registered clinical trials in the country have gone down from 80 trials in 2010 to 40 trials registered in 2015. About 56 percent of these were Phase III trials.

By comparison, the clinical trial registration in the Philippines in 2015 was far from the 598 registered trials in South Korea in the same year.

“The Philippines saw a decrease in the number of clinical trials because of a fall in Phase III studies, which are the main category of trials being conducted in the country, with most being global trials,” the BMI Research said.

“Despite the improving environment for global clinical trials in the Philippines, the relative lack of government support for clinical research will impinge upon the sector’s ability to leverage these competitive advantages and fully achieve the country’s potential in pharmaceutical research,” it added.

The Fitch Group unit said the country has no official strategy to support the sector, while competing hubs in the Asia Pacific have implemented such measures. For instance, Malaysia established Clinical Research Malaysia and South Korea has Korea National Enterprise for Clinical Trials that facilitate clinical research activities from multinational pharmaceutical firms into their respective countries.