Safarian is continuing with Novotech’s Asian expansion plans because of the noticeable shift in the number of trials he saw coming to Asia-Pacific. During the first nine months of Novotech’s last fiscal year, which ran from July 2008 to June 2009, the CRO was awarded 23 new phase II and III clinical trials to be conducted in the Asia-Pacific region.

“Basically, in the nine months to March, we had seen a massive uptick in the historical averages for business coming to Australia and into the region,” Safarian said. “There was this shift to Asia-Pacific…and, as we start to come out of the recession, our belief is that those companies that have made that shift will by and large stay, because once they see the quality and the benefits, etc. We think there will be a permanent shift.”

Novotech has about 70 active projects and 50 to 60 clients. The company plans to continue its focus on Asia for the next three to five years.

“The market is certainly looking favorably at the region, and we believe it’s going to grow, so it’s a logical direction to go. Our plan is to be fully and firmly focused on Asia-Pacific. We think we’ll have a lot of work ahead of us to do the business plan justice.”

http://www.centerwatch.com/news-resources/clinical-trials-today/