According to a new report, the global contract research organization (CRO) market was valued at approximately USD 34.12 billion in 2018, and is expected to generate around USD 55.16 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of around 7.10% between 2019 and 2025. The main factors expected to drive the CRO market in the coming years include an increasing number of clinical trials and growing R&D expenditure. (Zion Market Research)
Pharma execs provide advice on how to partner with Big Pharma
A recent panel of pharma executives at the 2018 Clinical Leader Forum provided advice on how small companies can connect with much larger companies, and the best practices for working with them. Topics addressed included: The best time to partner; the right timing to make a deal; find the right partner; perform due diligence; and strike the right deal. (Clinical Leader)
Why so little quality research on the risks and benefits of medical marijuana?
A growing number of Canadians are turning to medical cannabis, despite questions about its risks and effectiveness as a health product, as there has been little quality research into medicinal marijuana. Pharmaceutical companies fund clinical studies of their products, but marijuana producers have no incentive to conduct research and it’s difficult to create a plausible placebo for marijuana studies. (CTV NEWS Health)
Lured by “blood money”, serial study volunteers in India set a disturbing trend
A growing number of financially needy people in India are over-volunteering for bioequivalence clinical trials to supplement their income, putting at risk the health of these “serial volunteers” and the reliability of trial data. France and the United Kingdom have a national registry of study volunteers to prevent serial volunteering and deception to qualify for trials, but India and the U.S. do not. (THE HINDU)
“The future of weed science is a van in Colorado”
Recreational marijuana use is legal in Colorado, but federal laws restrict research – Federal law prohibits scientists from experimenting with anything but government-grown pot, which is different than the weed people actually use, and researchers are not allowed to bring commercial cannabis products into their lab and directly test their effects. The University of Colorado Boulder has built a research lab in a traveling Dodge “CannaVan” to study the potential risks and benefits of cannabis use among medical patients, which gets around federal restrictions on cannabis research. (WIRED)