India on the verge of becoming clinical trials hub

HYDERABAD: India is ready to step in as an alternative site for early-stage clinical trials to help mitigate the impact of disruptions such as the Russia-Ukraine war, an executive at contract research firm Parexel told Reuters on Wednesday.

The U.S.-based company plans to boost its headcount in India by more than 2,000 over the next three to five years, from about 6,000 currently, said Sanjay Vyas, who heads Parexel’s India operations.

Vyas said India is well-placed to attract clinical trials disrupted by geopolitical conflicts, such as the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as efforts by global drugmakers to reduce reliance on China.

Ukraine, along with Russia, had become important countries for studying new drugs before Russia’s invasion in 2022. In subsequent years, however, large companies and researchers have reported disruptions to trials there.

Vyas said Parexel plans to hire for roles that could help build innovation hubs.

“Because the cost of failure in India is much less than in other parts of the world,” he said on the sidelines of the ongoing BioAsia conference in the southern state of Telangana.

Durham, North Carolina-headquartered Parexel, among the world’s top clinical research organizations, operates between 100 and 150 trial sites in India, located across states including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.

India’s clinical trials data market is estimated to touch $1.51 billion in 2025, according to U.S.-based GrandView Research.

While India’s reputation as a trusted region for conducting trials is improving, several challenges, such as a lack of standardized regulations for some early-stage studies, remain before it can become a top choice for drugmakers.

“If you don’t do phase 1 trials, the same patient will have to wait for a phase 3 (late-stage) trial to happen for the drug to come into the market. So you have the time lost, which you could have gotten earlier on if the molecule was already introduced in advance,” Vyas said.

He also highlighted a lack of awareness about experimental treatments among patients and doctors, as well as establishing trial sites in remote areas, as other challenges in India.