Roche Pharma partners with 10 government hospitals to boost clinical trial capabilities in India

New Delhi [India], September 14 (ANI): In a major step to boost clinical research in India, government hospitals are partnering with Roche Pharma India to strengthen their capacity to conduct clinical trials.

Roche Pharma India also on Sunday announced the successful completion of the first phase of its Advanced Inclusive Research (AIR) Site Alliance initiative in India, having partnered with 10 government hospitals from across the country and trained nearly 400 professionals, including investigators, ethics committee members and support staff to global Good Clinical Practice (GCP) standards.

The 10 government hospitals involved in the initiative include AIIMS Rishikesh, Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi, PGIMS Rohtak, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Research Centre in Muzaffarpur, Balco Medical Centre in Raipur, Government Medical College in Aurangabad, Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health in Bengaluru, Dr. Bhubaneswar Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI) in Guwahati, Kalyan Singh Super Speciality Cancer Institute & Hospital in Lucknow, and Acharya Harihar Post Graduate Institute of Cancer in Cuttack.

Officer In-Charge at Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, Ravikant Singh, said the partnership has helped build research capacity, set up ethics committees, and train staff.

The Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Research Centre is now running six cancer-related trials, aiming to improve access to advanced research and treatment.

Speaking to ANI, Ravikant Singh said, This is a very important project started by Roche Pharma. They have developed our institutional capacity for conducting clinical research. They helped us establish our own institutional ethics committee, and the entire team received guidance through various training sessions and supportive supervision to set up the clinical research secretariat. Currently, we are conducting six randomised clinical trials. Since our hospital specialises in oncology, most of these trials are related to oncology.

He highlighted the need to boost clinical research in India, pointing out that only 4 per cent of global clinical trials are currently conducted in the country.

Singh stressed that building research capacity among government institutes, faculty, and staff is key to moving forward.

At present, we have only three ICMR-funded projects, with two related to cancer and one on antimicrobial resistance. We also have NIHR UK grants. The main aim is to build the capacity of the institute, faculty, and staff to carry out high-end clinical research. This is a very positive development, and I believe this project should be expanded to other government institutes. In India, only 4 of clinical trials are currently conducted. To move forward, we must increase our capacity, Singh said.

Medical Director at Roche Pharma India, Sivabalan Sivanesan, said the aim is to support hospitals, especially those treating large numbers of patients, to join international research efforts.

These government institutions see a large number of patients every day. Some of these institutions are specialised cancer and training institutes. They see many cancer patients daily. The main purpose of this alliance is to enable them to conduct industry-sponsored global clinical trials more effectively, allowing Indian patients to participate in international trials...Sivanesan told ANI.

Sivanesan stated that most of the planned trials are already underway, with key steps, such as ethics committee approvals, now occurring more quickly, making it easier to launch additional trials in the future.

Most of the trials in the event we previously discussed are already underway; they are now able to accelerate the process to start these trials. Important procedures, such as ethics committee approvals, are being completed more quickly, allowing for more trials, Sivanesan said.

The project aligns closely with India national priorities, including the CDSCO encouragement for greater participation of government sites in Phase 3 and 4 trials and the Pharmaceutical Research and Innovation Policy (PRIP) initiative that explicitly encouraged industry-academia partnerships to strengthen R&D capabilities, build clinical trial infrastructure and enhance India global competitiveness in innovative research.

This initiative supports the vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047 - creating a future-ready, world-class healthcare ecosystem where India emerges as a global hub for clinical research, accelerates access to breakthrough innovations, and delivers equitable health outcomes for every citizen. (ANI)

Disclaimer: This news article is a direct feed from ANI and has not been edited by the News Nation team. The news agency is solely responsible for its content.