PUTRAJAYA, March 21 — Malaysia conducted 215 new sponsored clinical research projects last year, involving a total contract value of RM226 million, said Health Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin.
He said these involved research in the fields of treatment of infectious diseases, oncology, haematology and cardiology, with half of the studies conducted at Ministry of Health (MOH) hospitals and health clinics, while the rest were conducted at university hospitals and private medical centres.
“Clinical research is important in the development of new drugs and therapies that are safe and more effective in treating a health condition.
“Malaysia has conducted various types of clinical research since the early 1990s, mostly involving sponsored clinical research projects funded by pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies,” he said when launching the Clinical Research Malaysia (CRM) Annual Report 2021 and Phase 1 Realisation Project (P1RP) Report, here today.
Khairy said the growth and development of sponsored clinical research in the country were led by CRM, a company under the MOH, that was incorporated in 2012.
He said that the MOH, through CRM, was committed to leading efforts to support the development of sponsored clinical research projects in the country, by ensuring that they were conducted on the basis of speed, quality, and reliability.
“Going forward, I aspire to see CRM explore clinical trials involving the domain of medical devices, which have not been explored and have very high potential,” he said.
Khairy said sponsored clinical research was identified as one of the Entry Point Projects under the Healthcare National Key Economic Area in 2010, with the potential to create skilled employment opportunities in the industry, as well as to generate income through investment in clinical studies conducted.
