ClinTec International, one of the first multinational CROs to establish a presence in Bangalore, is a major sponsor of this year’s Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Middle East (PABME) currently underway at the Dubai Exhibition and Conference Centre. ClinTec International, which also has an office in Dubai’s Healthcare City, is Gold Sponsor of PABME, the Gulf’s premier event for the pharma and biotech industry. ClinTec International’s founder, President and CEO, Dr Rabinder Buttar, is also scheduled to speak at and chair a session during the PABME Clinical Trials Congress.
UAE Health Minister, Dr Humaid Mohammad Obaid Al Quatami visited ClinTec’s stand during the PABME conference. ClinTec’s President & CEO, Dr Buttar exchanged ideas with His Excellency on the topic of furthering clinical research operations within the Middle East.
Dr Rabinder Buttar said: “We are proud and delighted to be Gold Sponsors of PABME. As the premier industry event in the region, PABME provides us with the opportunity to showcase the scientific and innovative expertise for which Scotland is so well known. It also provides us with the opportunity to forge links with other major industry players too.”
Despite the current economic downturn, the international pharmaceutical market has continued to demonstrate relatively strong growth. And while North America and the European Union (EU) and latterly India constitute the bulk of pharma sales and clinical research development, markets in the Levant, where ClinTec also has a presence, GCC countries (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar) are growing year on year and are estimated to be worth some US$10 (£6.6bn) currently.
“As with India, demand for affordable prescription medicines in the Gulf and the rest of the MENA region is set to grow dramatically,” said Dr Rabinder Buttar, who was recently included in the UK’s Real Business’ list of Britain’s 100 Most Entrepreneurial Women. “And like India the Gulf region also stands ready to attract major international pharma and biotech firms and become a clinical research hub too.”
Experience in India has shown, however, that as the industry expands attention will be increasingly drawn to regulatory and training issues. In order for locally sourced research and results to be taken seriously internationally there needs to be a harmonisation of clinical research standards, more equitable standards of training, as well as, crucially, the ability to train the numbers of staff required for the local industry to have a sustainable future. Without adequate numbers of staff, local institutions will never be able to play catch-up with the West.
This is something Dr Rabinder Buttar and ClinTec International are only too happy to help address. “As can be seen from the topic of my speech, training is high on the ClinTec agenda. ClinTec has already trained over 700 graduates in India and with the formation of our global Academy of Clinical Excellence (ACE) operating from several major hubs across the globe including Bangalore, numbers of students will significantly increase. Our courses also meet internationally recognised International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) and good clinical practice (GCP) standards,” said Dr Buttar.
“While at ClinTec we are proud to be developing medicines that save lives around the world, we recognise the huge potential in bringing new and emerging markets up to Western standards. “We should also have ClinTec’s Academy of Clinical Excellence in Dubai ready to admit students by September this year.”
