GVK Bio to grow its clinical research biz

The company has unveiled Clinogent, a separate brand identity for its clinical development solutions division

Hyderabad-based GVK Biosciences, which unveiled a separate brand identity for its clinical development solutions division as Clinogent, on Thursday said the new entity would become one of the dominant players in Asia in the next three years.

“There is a good demand for full-service clinical development solutions. As of now, we stand in the fourth or fifth position but hope to become one among the top three providers in Asia and create a benchmark in the industry,” Manni Kantipudi, chief executive officer of GVK Bio, said.

According to him, the company is investing in clinical development operations to tap the full potential exists globally.

The clinical development is estimated to be a $16-billion industry and is expected to grow at 10.5 per cent to $23 billion by 2020. The clinical research in India faced a rough ride in the recent past owing to the accusations of criminal negligence leading to the death of the subjects and exploitation of poor by some of the clinical research organisations (CROs).

Clinogent would provide research and development solutions to pharmaceutical, generics, biotechnology companies, and academic institutions across the globe with the focus markets being the US, Europe, Turkey and Asia, according to the company CEO.

On dwindling clearances for new clinical research projects in the country, he said some of the regulatory issues had to be sorted out for a greater clarity and transparency in this field.

“We are awaiting the SC verdict by which the whole process of clinical trials would be streamlined besides the faster approvals,” he said.