Novotech Publishes Whitepaper on Infectious Diseases Clinical Trials, Revealing Over 7,000 Trials Launched Worldwide

Boston, USA – 8 November 2023 - Novotech, the leading Asia Pacific centred biotech CRO with global execution capabilities, today published the latest 2023 global clinical trial environment whitepaper focused on infectious diseases.

The Novotech research analyst team offers these expert reports monthly at no cost.  This helps to contribute to the advancement of knowledge of the clinical trials industry.

The Infectious Diseases - Global Clinical Trial Environment (2018~2023) whitepaper offers a comprehensive assessment of the global clinical trial landscape. It provides valuable insights into emerging therapeutic trends, which encompass the development of effective solutions like vaccines, diagnostics, and novel biological therapies to address future pathogenic challenges.

The whitepaper noted, “As the global society grapples with the ever-changing landscape of infectious diseases, quick and adaptive clinical trial designs are critical for bringing about breakthrough therapies that may successfully tackle these constantly evolving health threats”.

It also indicated that since 2018, there were close to 7,000 industry initiated infectious disease related clinical trials as detailed below: 

• The bulk of these trials, 46% of the total (over 3,000 trials), were conducted in the Asia-Pacific region. 
• Europe and North America had an equal share of the trials (nearly 1,300 trials each), each contributing 20%. 
• The clinical trials conducted in the rest of the world (ROW) accounted for 14% of the total (over 900 trials).

The whitepaper further concluded, “This global distribution of trials illustrates the industry’s concerted efforts to address infectious diseases on a diversified and broad scale, with the goal of advancing medical knowledge and improving public health outcomes”. 

The data collected and analyzed by the Novotech team offers in-depth insights into the following research domains:

• Viral infections dominated the trials (57%). Corona viruses, HIV, hepatitis, influenza, Herpes, RSV, Zika, and Ebola were all investigated in trials. This focus reflects the worldwide commitment to combating both established and newly emerging global viral threats such as mutated variants of corona viruses”. 

• Bacterial infection trials accounted for 23% of all studies, driven mostly because of antibiotic resistance. Researchers and the companies prioritised new antibiotics, treatments, and vaccines. These clinical studies included a wide range of gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial infections, from common ones like Neisseria, Staphylococcus aureus, and E-Coli to multidrug resistant strains.

• Fungal infections (such as mycoses, candidiasis, and aspergillosis), albeit accounting for a lower share at 4%, had a significant number of clinical studies conducted during this period. Fungal infections have received greater attention because of their frequency in immunocompromised patients and the challenges faced in effectively controlling these types of infections.

• Other infectious diseases (16%), including protozoal infections, targeted a variety of agents that caused considerable morbidity, particularly in resource-limited areas.

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Novotech has more than 3,000 employees operating across 25 geographies, with 34 office locations, including the US, Greater China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.

Infectious diseases CRO offers biotechs a unique and unparalleled suite of early to late-phase services across the US and Europe, with a foundation in Asia Pacific where the company has built a reputation for delivering high-quality expedited clinical trials. 

Recognized for its industry-leading contributions, Novotech has received numerous prestigious awards, including the CRO Leadership Award 2023 and the Asia Pacific Cell & Gene Therapy Clinical Trials Excellence 2022 and 2023 awards. Additionally, the company has been honored with the Asia-Pacific Contract Research Organization Company of the Year Award each year since 2006. Its commitment to collaboration is evident in the 50 Leading Site Partnership agreements it has signed over the past three years.