Early phase clinical trial center opens in southern Taiwan

The center is a joint project launched by the National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) and the hospital. Chen Jyh-hong, superintendent of the hospital, and Chang Jang-yang, director of the NHRI's National Institute of Cancer Research, presided over a plaque-unveiling ceremony to formally open the center.

NCKUH said that it set up a clinical trial center as early as 1990, but with Taiwan's advancement in new drug development and the willingness of foreign pharmaceuticals to commission clinical trials in Taiwan, the hospital decided to set up a separate early-phase clinical trial center.

Early phase clinical trials cover the first two stages of the four-phase trial of new drugs. In phase one the drug is tested on humans and the right dosages are determined. Phase two assess the effects and toxicity of the drug. Phase three researches the effects and safety of the drug, and in phase four it is monitored for side-effects after it is put on the market.

NCKUH said that the time frame for a new drug to proceed from development to clinical trials and then to the market is five to seven years and involves millions of dollars.

The hospital said it has been commissioned by local and foreign pharmaceutical companies to conduct clinical trials for 40 cancer drugs.

Most of the requests for clinical trials of new drugs have come from foreign counties, while 20 percent are from local pharmaceutical companies, the hospital said.

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