US-based biopharmaceutical services provider Quintiles has launched its first global clinical study involving Indonesia, making good on its partnership with local laboratory Prodia.
Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world but traditionally it has been a tough market to crack for global clinical studies, as all local samples have to be tested in-country before either samples or data can be exported.
Quintiles has overcome this barrier through its exclusive alliance with Prodia Clinical Laboratory for in-country testing of samples from Indonesian patients taking part in clinical research.
Now the company has included Indonesia in a diabetes study that is expected to enrol some14,000 patients in total worldwide.
“This is testament to Quintiles’ commitment to obtain evidence of the potential benefits of new medicines in patient populations for whom they are intended,” commented Alan Ong, vice president and general manager of Quintiles Southeast Asia.
CAP accreditation
One factor that helped bring the alliance to fruition was Prodia’s recent accreditation by the College of American Pathologists, the world’s foremost organisation dedicated to laboratory quality improvement, the partners noted.
Having first opened an office in Indonesia in 2006, Quintiles announced its partnership with Jakarta-based Prodia Clinical Laboratory last November.
The agreement, effected through the latter’s sister company, contract research organisation Prodia, gave Quintiles exclusive access to Prodia’s central laboratory for a two-year period, beginning with the first study placed in Indonesia.
Prodia has been providing a wide range of laboratory testing services in Asia for some 39 years. It has worked in the clinical trial sector for around 15 of those years, leading to the formation of its sister CRO in 2007.
