LSK Global PS said it has released an infographic showing the current situation of Korea’s contract research organization (CRO) market and reliable criteria for selecting CROs to celebrate the World Clinical Trials Day on Thursday.

According to the company, there are 65 CROs in Korea conducting contracted clinical trials. They hired 47.4 percent more workers over the past three years and increased sales by 77.7 percent in the past five years. A company official said the domestic CRO market continued to grow by 12 percent a year on average, thanks to increasing demand for new drug development.

In a press release on Tuesday, LSK Global PS stressed that pharmaceutical companies consider full-scope service, certified experts, advanced clinical trial experiences, and global competence when choosing CRO partners. 

“Companies must, of course, conduct clinical trials to prove the safety and efficacy of developing drugs to receive regulatory approval, but the studies require a long time with high cost while only about 10 percent of them survive,” it said.

Clinical trials also carry various risks as regulators frequently update related regulations due to rapidly advancing new drug researches, forcing biopharmaceutical companies to team up with CROs for effective researches, the company added.

LSK Global PS has conducted 1,307 clinical trials, including about 150 global studies, as of March 2021, and 734 of them were to receive approval for a new drug. About 16 percent of the studies were related to anticancer drugs. The company carried out 22 contracted studies for developing the Covid-19 vaccine, therapy, and test kits. It also took over 16 rescue studies, which are clinical trials that have been halted but continuing with different vendors from the previous partners.

“Choosing a CRO that can grow together with its partner is an important task to successfully run clinical trials, the core of new drug development in a rapidly changing environment,” LSK Global PS CEO Lee Young-jack said. “We will provide differentiated and professional services to meet the contracted development and continue to contribute domestic clinical trials advancement.”