Recognised internationally as meeting the required ethical and regulatory standards of PIASA, South Africa has long been a popular location for the clinical research trials necessary to bring new medicines to market. There is therefore a need for more trained health professionals to participate in clinical research, particularly researchers who are representative of the country's demographics.
GP Dr Sharda Garib, from Durban, attended the course with a view to getting involved in clinical trials again after several years of being out of the loop. He feels that South Africa's popularity as a clinical trial location has positive spin-offs in respect of the overseas investment. The exchange rate ensures that it is also to the advantage of the multinational companies sponsoring the research to use the country as a location. In addition, clinical trials give South Africa a valuable opportunity to try out new therapeutic modalities earlier than would otherwise be the case.
"Our demographic profile is a strength in that we have both a developed world population and a developing world one. This means that we have a pool of subjects suitable for research into products addressing first-world diseases of lifestyle, as well as those aimed at infective conditions more common in the developing world," he said.
When the trials are complete, South Africa will have valuable locally relevant data to inform medical practice going forward. "This is a great advantage as it's often very difficult to extrapolate findings from studies conducted elsewhere, for example Scandinavia, among vastly different populations," he concluded.
According to Durban-based pulmonologist Dr Bilal Gafoor, who also attended the course, South Africa has some key advantages as a clinical trial location. "Because we have very good systems in place, it's easy both to recruit and follow up patients in trials," he said. "Our disease profile also offers investigators lots of opportunities; not only our unique HIV/TB burden, but also the widespread prevalence of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, and the high incidence of trauma and injury, because of our high rate of motor vehicle accidents."
For clinical trials to have the greatest impact large cohorts are essential and South Africa is able to provide the required volumes of patients. In addition, Dr Gafoor feels that the pharmaceutical industry also benefits from the high number of South African academics interested in working in the trials arena, as well as the existence of a number of centres dedicated exclusively to research initiatives.
Dr Ray Maharaj, who heads up the largest maternity department in KwaZulu-Natal, echoes the view that South Africa's disease profile and the quality of its infrastructure - institutions, systems and personnel - make it a desirable location for clinical trials. "Our researchers do important work in respect of protocol development, and monitoring and evaluation and we have excellent data management and follow-up to ensure sound results. Good relationships with various overseas funders also see the country well-placed as a desirable location."
He commended PIASA for hosting the course and its ongoing commitment to bringing more young researchers on board. "Any organisation promoting research deserves praise and encouragement especially at a time when budget cuts resulting from the recession have seen a slight drop in South Africa's research output. We need a helping hand."
For more information go to www.piasa.co.za.
