Accutest Labs expands clinical research

Ahmedabad: The New Mumbai-based Accutest Research Laboratories, a full-service clinical research organisation (CRO), on Tuesday inaugurated its second facility for clinical trial here with an investment of Rs seven crore.

Accutest, the first in India to have multi-locational independent branches, has clients from India, US, Europe, South Africa and Japan, Dr Nirav Gandhi, Vice-President, told reporters.

The company, whose core strength lies in bioequivalence/bioavailability, pharmacokinetic studies and formulation development, has so far invested Rs 22 crore in its two units in Ahmedabad, he said. It is the first centre in India to have API-5000 LCMS/MS machines for research. The existing centres at Ahmedabad have been successfully audited by USFDA and WHO.

CRO Market

“The CRO market in India is expected to cross the $1 billion mark by 2010 as compared to $200 million in 2006, experiencing almost 50 per cent growth every year. There is a huge potential untapped as India currently accounts for less than five per cent of global clinical trials. As Gujarat has the maximum number of pharmaceutical manufacturing units, Accutest aims to capture a large share of the CRO market by 2010 through its Gujarat operations,” said Dr Santosh Joshi, COO and Director.

Accutest has grown almost 60 per cent every year since the last three years and expects to continue the trend for the next three years. “We are expecting to be amongst top three CROs in India and a significant global player by 2010,” Dr Satish Sawant, CEO, said.