Australian contract research organisation (CRO) CPR Pharma Services has opened what it says is the first Good Laboratory Practice (GLP)-standard bioanalytical laboratory in Singapore.
The new facility in the city-state’s Science Park II will enable US and European companies to fast-track clinical trials previously hamstrung by a shortage of regulated GLP Laboratories that can handle bioanalytical samples in Asia, CPR said.
“We will be able to halve the time taken to complete some early-phase trials by utilising our lab in Singapore,” claimed chief executive officer Jason Valentine.
Last year CPR’s facility in Adelaide was audited by the US Food and Drug Administration, making it the only existing laboratory of its type in Australia to have been through that process, the CRO noted.
“The FDA audit and approval is really the gold standard, and it is a huge selling point from a global competitiveness perspective, giving potential clients confidence that world-class service is available in the region,” Valentine added.
Relative speed
According to CPR, the relative speed of regulatory approvals in Singapore and Australia compared with other countries in the region, together with the availability of quality local laboratories, will enable pharmaceutical companies to “take the full advantage of the cost efficiencies in Asia-Pacific without the costly compromise of time delays”.
This will add to the global attractiveness of an already flourishing CRO market in the region, it noted.
