ACRO Comments on NEJM Article on Globalization of Clinica...( WASHINGTON Feb. 20 -- The Associatio...),Health

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO), which represents the clinical outsourcing industry to regulators, biopharmaceutical clients, policy makers and the public in the U.S. and worldwide, issued the following comment on the article "Ethical and Scientific Implications of the Globalization of Clinical Research" published in the February 19, 2009 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine:

The article by Duke University researchers raises several important scientific and ethical issues regarding multinational clinical research. ACRO appreciates several of the article's recommendations. For instance, the authors state "Industry sponsors, contract research organizations, and the academic community can meet the challenges of globalization by accepting full responsibility for the ethical conduct and quality oversight of these trials." ACRO members have been leaders in driving global standards for patient protection and safety and ACRO looks forward to engaging sponsors and academic institutions in a discussion to establish parameters in this regard.

Further, the article states "Investigators in developing countries would benefit from rigorous training in the design, conduct, and ethical oversight of trials, which would allow them to engage more fully in multinational clinical research at a leadership level." ACRO members invest millions of dollars annually to recruit and train high-quality investigators in more than 60 countries. A well-trained, global investigator network is in the best interest of all participants in the drug development process.

However, the globalization of the clinical trials enterprise is a complex endeavor involving many factors. Unfortunately, the authors' ignored one of the primary drivers behind the globalization of clinical research: the limited participation rate in clinical trials in the United Sta
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