Clinical Research in India

What is clinical research?

Medical research to show that a device, drug, or other treatment is safe and effective in humans. called clinical study and clinical investigation.

Before a drug is introduced in the market, it has to pass a lengthy approval process involving a series of clinical trials. This process is called clinical research.

What are the career prospects and scope of clinical research in india?

A fledgling industry till a while back, clinical research is now ready to take off in India. In fact, we are the second most preferred destination for outsourcing clinical trials for the global pharma industry today, which is 90 per cent cheaper than the West.

Global consultancy McKinsey & Co estimates that by 2010, global pharma majors would spend around $1-1.5 billion just for drug trials in the country.

According to a Confederation of Indian Industry study, clinical trials in India in 2002 generated $70 million in revenues.

It predicts that it would grow to $200 million by 2007 and anywhere between $500 million and $1 billion by 2010.

Almost all top names, including Novo Nordisk, Aventis, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline, have started running clinical drug trials in India lately, while some, such as Eli Lilly and Pfizer, which started much earlier, conduct tests on a number of their new drugs. Besides, a variety of both India-based and global contract/clinical research organizations that specialize in outsourced clinical trials management are working to expand India's clinical-trials business. These include Quintiles, Omnicare, PharmaNet and Pharm-Olam (all US-based).

There are more than 50,000 jobs in clinical research in India.

Reason? India offers a large native patient base with a truly diverse gene pool on which broad-based clinical trials can be validated. Our climatic conditions also offer a perfect breeding ground for a range of different diseases.

The only impediment preventing the industry from expanding is a severe shortage of clinical research associates and chemists familiar with complex chemical synthesis. Globally, more than 2.5 lakh positions are lying vacant.

There is an increasing demand for CRP’s (Clinical Research Professionals) by pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer, Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, Ranbaxy, Cipla etc who can design, code, conduct and report clinical trials with a clear understanding of Good Lab Practices including an understanding of Indian and international regulatory and research standards. Poaching within the industry is rampant. Clinical Research Associates (CRAs) with even one-year of training are prime targets for poaching while anyone with 4-5 years of experience is considered as a ‘rare diamond’. You could be working in-house with pharma or research or onsite interacting with the study coordinator and investigators conducting the clinical trial.

Although many CR institutes enroll science graduates, they essentially end up doing data-management work. Medical professionals are best suited for going into actual CR work.

So, it’s good times ahead for those opting for CR as a career.

Job Profile:

The most common entry-level position is that of a Clinical Research Associate (CRA).

CRA can become a Project Manager and Medical Director.

There are other posts also such as Clinical Research Coordinator, Business Development Manager, Medical Writers, Clinical Research Investigator, Clinical Data Manager, Safety Experts etc.

Remuneration:

Freshers can expect an annual package around three lakhs or more.

If you have a master's degree , then you can expect more.

And finally experiance counts, if you have good experiance then earning in lakhs will not be a dream.

Eligibility:

At least a life sciences qualification/degree / Nursing/ Pharmacist.

MD or Pharm DMS in Clinical Pharmacy, MSc/PhD in Life sciences or related fields, Medical Degree are preferred.

There is a dearth of trained professionals in clinical research, so even a B.Sc. in lifesciences can do.