[Top 10 Healthcare News in 2024 ⑤] Clinical trial industry faces crisis amid healthcare turmoil

The year 2024 has been a turbulent one for the healthcare industry, marked by ongoing conflicts between the medical community and the government over a policy to increase medical school admission quotas by 2,000. Tensions escalated further with the Dec. 3 martial law debacle. Many sectors within the healthcare industry faced significant challenges, with some reporting their worst year on record. Here, we highlight the top 10 healthcare news stories that defined this year. -- Ed.

Korea’s clinical trial industry is experiencing significant setbacks due to the ongoing medical crisis, which is shaking its international standing. The deteriorating research environment caused by a shortage of healthcare professionals is expected to impact the local pharmaceutical industry's competitiveness negatively.

Mass resignations of medical residents have exacerbated workforce shortages in healthcare settings, leading to substantial delays in drug development clinical trials. Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) are either experiencing delays in operations or halting altogether, and faculty members are being deployed to clinical duties, leaving them with little time for research and feasibility assessments.

Clinical trials requiring multidisciplinary collaboration, such as those for anticancer drugs, are facing issues with proper adverse event monitoring. This delays drug development timelines and adversely affects the pharmaceutical industry.

Delays in patient enrollment and difficulties with collaboration requests have also led to an increasing number of trials failing to start. Some pharmaceutical companies are exploring alternatives, such as using secondary hospitals instead of large tertiary general hospitals.

The pharmaceutical industry expresses concerns that if the current crisis continues, it will severely impact new drug development and the overall sector. Clinical trial delays push back drug development timelines and increase research and development (R&D) costs, weakening companies' market competitiveness.

“Korea has earned the trust of global pharmaceutical companies based on the speed and quality of its clinical trials,” an industry official told Korea Biomedical Review. “However, the prolonged medical chaos is prompting more pharmaceutical companies to reconsider conducting clinical trials in Korea.”

The industry executive added that such a risk would weaken Korea's position in the global clinical trial market, adversely affecting the drug approval process.