India poised to become a Global Hub for Clinical Trials: Exec

India is prepared to take over as a substitute location for early-stage clinical studies in order to lessen the effects of interruptions like the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, an executive at contract research firm Parexel said.

According to Sanjay Vyas, who leads Parexel's India operations, the US-based company intends to increase its workforce in India by over 2,000 from the present 6,000 employees over the course of the next three to five years.

India is ideally positioned to draw clinical trials that have been interrupted by geopolitical issues like the war between Russia and Ukraine and attempts by international pharmaceutical companies to lessen their dependency on China, according to Vyas.

Prior to Russia's invasion in 2022, Ukraine and Russia had emerged as key nations for drug research. However, big businesses and researchers have stated that studies there have been disrupted in later years. Vyas said Parexel intends to fill positions that could support the development of innovation hubs.

"Because the cost of failure in India is much less than in other parts of the world," he stated while speaking in the southern state of Telangana during the ongoing BioAsia conference.

GrandView Research, based in the United States, projects that the clinical trials data market in India will reach $1.51 billion per year by 2025.

India's standing as a reliable location for trials is growing, but there are still a number of obstacles to overcome before it can be a top option for pharmaceutical companies, including the absence of uniform standards for many early-stage research.