Ireland must lift its clinical trials game

28/11/2006 - Ireland needs to lift its game if it is to compete globally and attract new clinical research business into the country, says a new report by the Irish government.

The report, released by Ireland's Advisory Science Council last week, said that Ireland is “uncompetitive” and losing clinical trials to other countries where securing ethical approval is less cumbersome.
“Ireland must develop and implement a new national health research strategy as a matter of urgency,” said the report, titled: "Towards Better Health: Achieving a Step Change in Health Research in Ireland."

"Our goal is to make Ireland the destination of choice when advanced technology for health is being conceived, tested or implemented," said the chairman of the advisory council, Mary Cryan.

Typically Ireland hasn't been a location where clinical research has been conducted by pharma firms and there are currently only three or four other contract research organisations (CROs) operating in the country, Icon Clinical Research being the largest. Quintiles did have a presence although have since moved their operations to the UK.

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