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Mumbai, Sept. 21: China is ahead of India in pharmaceutical outsourcing, according to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

A new index developed by PwC shows China leading the table followed by India, Korea and Taiwan.

Recent data show that China has even moved ahead of India in clinical trials.

The PwC study, quoting a website of the US National Institute of Health, said that the number of completed clinical trials is 870 for China compared with 737 for India. Till June, 428 clinical trials are underway in that country. The number of ongoing clinical trials in India had increased to around 270 in 2007 from around 50 in 2003 .

The PwC report titled, “The changing dynamics of pharma outsourcing in Asia: Are you readjusting your sights?”, said qualitative factors such as drug development potential held the key to selecting a location for clinical trials against the traditional factor of cost.

The growing importance of markets in Asia matched with an increasing pharmaceutical expertise in the region have made the cost factor less important.

Drug firms carrying out clinical trials in China and India can save up to 60 per cent on costs. The cost of clinical trials in India is about 50 per cent less than in the US.

Singapore, on the other hand, gives its approval for clinical trials most quickly, within two to three months.

“Delays of up to 12 months are not uncommon in China, and despite recent moves to streamline processes, a nine-month wait is typical in India. In contrast, approval time in Singapore is around three months,’’ the report said.

PwC has developed the outsourcing index by taking into account cost factors, the risks associated with a country and the extent of market opportunity.

China scored over India in offering market opportunity, in terms of the current and future needs of healthcare of the population, the size of the pharmaceutical market and the growth rate of the market.

The advantage of clinical research in India lies in its large “treatment naive” patient population.

In India, about 300,000 postgraduates and 1,500 PhD students qualify annually in biosciences and engineering, and around 150,000 MSc students graduate in chemistry.

“Despite these numbers, India finds it hard to recruit sufficient clinical research professionals.’’

The lack of effective medical treatment ensures that patient enrolment is high with minimal attrition and they can be recruited for less than one-third the time taken in the US.