Clinical research market in Poland appears to be stable and the number of trials remains stable. However, global processes as well as domestic factors suggest that Poland’s strong position may soon be threatened.
A preliminary analysis of the report on the state of clinical trials in Poland was presented on May 19th during a conference organized by the GCPpl Association to celebrate the International Clinical Trials Day.
The report points out the strong position of Poland so far:
- Poland ranks 11th globally in terms of iBPCT (innovative Biopharmaceutical-sponsored clinical trials) market share.
- In 2020 alone, 25 000 patients in Poland participated in clinical trials.
- It is estimated that Poland is ranked 12th globally and 8th in Europe in terms of availability of clinical trials to patients.
- Very high productivity of centers conducting clinical trials is indicated – Poland is ranked 5th in the world in this respect.
- Historically, Poland has lagged behind in terms of trial start-up, but after 2018 it ranks higher and higher in the statistics. The authors of the report indicate that more data is needed to definitively assess whether Poland’s current position is stable or just a temporary improvement.
- It is important that the cost of conducting clinical trials in Poland is below the global median.
- Poland’s high position in terms of reputation among sponsors and high quality of research is also highlighted.
Factors contributing to Poland’s strong position in clinical research
- Higher productivity of clinical trial sites in relation to other, stable markets.
- Centralized healthcare system with competent researchers attracting and retaining large numbers of patients for clinical trials.
- Lower costs of conducting clinical trials compared to other markets, including lower start-up costs.
- Very good, stable reputation of Poland as a clinical trials market with high quality research.
Poland’s strong position may be threatened
At the same time, the authors of the report point at several barriers to maintaining Poland’s good position in the clinical trials market. These include:
- Problems in remote monitoring of clinical trials.
- Complexity of the rules determining the research funding.
- Lack of a central, top-down center supervising clinical trials.
- Lack of adequate legal regulations.
The answer to many of these barriers may be the new act on clinical trials, the draft of which was recently announced.
The full report is expected to be published in 2022. The presentation given at the conference is available in PDF format at this link: REPORT
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The report is conducted on behalf of two organizations: The Employers’ Union of Innovative Pharmaceutical Companies Infarma and the Polish Association of Employers of Companies Conducting Clinical Research on Commissioning POLCRO.
