INDIA'S VEEDA TO CONDUCT CLINICAL RESEARCH IN AMPANG HOSPITAL

BY P.Vijian

NEW DELHI, July 27 (Bernama) -- The Ahmedabad-based Veeda Clinical Research
organisation will make its entry into the Malaysian medical sector by setting up
its advanced research unit at the Ampang Hospital in Kuala Lumpur before year
end.

Veeda, India's fastest-growing clinical research organisation (CRO), has
selected the Ampang Hospital to conduct first-phase clinical trials on humans
under a quasi-commercial agreement with the Malaysian Health Ministry.

It will start off with a state-of-the-art 28-bed facility for Phase I
trials, where early trials of new drugs or treatments are done, and also
establish an early clinical development unit at the hospital.

"As part of the attractiveness of Malaysia as a site from which to work, we
need a number of infrastructural items in place.

"One of these capabilities is to do the early clinical development of drugs
into man. This includes first administration in humans and also early patient
studies," Maurice Cross, group medical director of Veeda, told Bernama.

Veeda, which specialises in cost-effective early clinical development of
drugs, has facilities in Belgium, India the United Kingdom where extensive Phase
I and Phase II clinical trials are carried out.

Cross said an important component of the agreement was the development of a
pool of Malaysian expertise to conduct such trials. For instance, it was
proposed that a course in clinical trials technology be conducted in a local
teaching institution.

"The unit will have technology necessary to conduct clinical trials,
including first into man exposure.

"In addition, we will be working on registries of special populations who
are of particular interest in clinical research and this includes a population
of sterile females and the elderly population," he said.

-- BERNAMA