More Than Half Of Trials Conducted In South Korea Led By Pfizer

SEOUL - The number of clinical trials Pfizer Korea conducted in South Korea last year rose sharply to 93 cases from 75 cases in 2007, a result of Pfizer's move to conduct more of its clinical trials in South Korea.

Pfizer's trials accounted for more than half of the 181 trials approved by South Korea last year and 75 of the 148 trials in 2007.

"Along with a sharp rise in our clinical trials last year, you can see our strong commitment to the country in our expanded research and development investment, which reached KRW 34 billion [$25 million] last year from KRW 23 billion [$17 million] in 2007," a Pfizer Korea official told PharmAsia News, adding that drug makers can expect strong "team cooperation" from the South Korean government, academics and hospitals.

Last year, Pfizer signed a memorandum of understanding with a consortium of South Korean hospitals - Seoul National University, Samsung Seoul Hospital, Asian Hospital and Severance Hospital - to conduct Phase II clinical trials along with eight other countries including the U.S., Canada and Argentina.

"The selection of the South Korean hospitals means that South Korea's medical level is well-recognized by the world medical and pharmaceutical industry now," said the Pfizer Korea official, who asked not to be named.

Industry officials said regulatory delays and the inability of Japan's hospitals to test adequate numbers of people could prompt multinationals to seek alternative opportunities in other countries such as South Korea.

Reflecting Pfizer Korea's commitment to the South Korean market, the company signed a deal with the government in 2007 to invest a total of $300 million in local R&D for five years (Also see "Pfizer Plans R&D, Manufacturing Expansion In Asia" - Scrip, 3 Dec, 2007.). The deal is the largest ever in South Korea during that five-year period in the pharma industry, the company said.

Pfizer has been providing - what it calls - innovative and value-added medicines used for treatment of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, smoking cessation, urogenital diseases, mental and neurological disorders and ocular disease in Korea.

With a total of 600 employees, Pfizer Korea was the top multinational company in Korea valued by sales last year.

MNC Trials On The Rise In Korea

Government data show that clinical trials conducted by MNCs in South Korea are on the rise.

More and more MNCs are heading to South Korea where both the Korean government and large hospitals are trying to entice them with a well-trained workforce, well-established infrastructure and lower costs compared to other advanced countries, including Japan. Korea FDA clinical trial approvals have risen sharply the last few years, from 95 cases in 2005 to 181 trials in the first 10 months of 2008 (Also see "Multinationals Step Up Clinical Trials In South Korea" - Scrip, 9 Jan, 2008.).

A Korea FDA official told PharmAsia News that he expects the upward trend to continue as the Korean government has made moves to remove unnecessary restrictions on clinical trials by MNCs.

"More and more multinationals are expected to conduct their clinical trials here in South Korea where they can enjoy better medical services and enough medical manpower," Park Kye-Hyun, spokeswoman at the Korean Research-based Pharmaceutical Industry Association said. "Overall, South Korea, the country, itself, is becoming a more convenient place for clinical trials by multinational companies."

- Peter Chang ([email protected])