THAILAND PLANS CLINICAL TRIALS BOOST

Thailand is attempting to develop its life sciences sector and promote the country as an attractive location to conduct clinical trials. Global annual expenditure on clinical trials is estimated to be US$15bn. By attracting some of the larger studies, Thailand is hoping to encourage a technology transfer, in order to develop the healthcare sector. However, Thai pharmaceutical R&D remains at an early stage.

Nevertheless, Thailand boasts a strong hospital and tertiary care infrastructure. The health ministry has also recently streamlined trial procedures, significantly cutting approval delays. Despite these positive moves, foreign firms continue to point to weak data protection laws. Under current legislation, companies that fund clinical trials are forced to hand over their data to the government before products can be approved for marketing. Western-style data exclusivity periods have recently been introduced in Singapore and China, but have yet to be taken up in Thailand.