Asia Pacific Expansion
4.7 billion. That’s the approximate population of Asia as of 2021. That number represents about 59 percent of the total world population. People are living longer and with that comes the demand for improved healthcare. With the Asia Pacific region accounting for about 15 percent of the drug development pipeline today, it’s no wonder that it is growing at a double-digit rate.
As we watched the rapid growth of the development pipeline in the Asia Pacific market along with the increased drug development study requests that resulted, we knew the time was right for an expansion to meet your growing needs. The investment in our Asia Pacific operation with a $6.6 million renovation of our Shanghai, China facility aligns perfectly with the mission to move health forward and bring life-changing breakthroughs to people around the world.
“We had more clients coming to us wanting to do work, but we were completely full and were scheduling months into the future,” says Matt Renninger, Site Lead for Early Development in Shanghai. “Labcorp launched the initiative to increase capacity as well as acquire new tools and technologies to help better serve our clients’ increasing needs.” Completed in mid-2020, the renovation resulted in increasing the study capacity by over 50 percent.
With new capacity comes new capabilities. “We were set up to do the basics, which was the right place to start. After seeing customers request more sophisticated study work, we moved quickly to add advanced technologies to deliver more complex analyses and support our clients’ changing demand. That’s a huge shift,” says Renninger.
One of the most exciting areas you can now access from our state-of-the-art space is biologics. We installed an immunology and immunotoxicology research laboratory—which we call the I&I lab—where we can collaborate with those of you who need immunophenotyping, cytokine analysis and other assays to support the development of immunomodulators.
We are also equipped to offer jacketed external telemetry (JET) studies, which are required to satisfy safety assessment regulations in China. JET is a leading method of data collection that monitors cardiovascular endpoints. By incorporating JET during the development process, you’re assured that you have the data you need during filing.
When it comes to filing, it’s crucial to have a team of regulatory experts on hand. Our team of regulatory specialists have a wealth of localized experience to help you seamlessly file your study with China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). You can get help with global filing as well, from a team that has supported studies for more than 50 Investigational New Drug (IND) applications with the NMPA and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over the last seven years.
“I think that’s the beauty of having the team in China. They have local and global knowledge and can efficiently help clients do the work and then submit dual filings for the U.S. and China,” says Renninger.
The paint has barely dried on our Shanghai renovation, but we are already planning further additions to support our clients from our Asia Pacific operation. The future of healthcare in the Asia Pacific is incredibly promising. We are thrilled to help you move health forward by bringing new answers and new medicines into this flourishing region. “We are creeping close to where we’re going to be full again. So we’re focused on being a step ahead, continuing to expand to meet your growing study demand,” says Renninger.