The establishment of clinical trials in Ireland would create a 'positive feedback loop' for the entire biopharma industry here, Ciarán Brennanis told.

GIVEN THE right support, Ireland is ideally placed to develop a clinical trials industry, according to the founder, chief executive and chairman of Quintiles, the world's largest contract research company for the pharmaceutical industry.

The company specialises in clinical trials, drug research and the associated data management for pharmaceutical companies.

With Ireland now established as a key global location for the pharmaceutical industry - with eight of the world's top-10 pharma companies by sales having manufacturing plants in operation here - Dr Denis Gillings says the next step is to build on that success.

"Clinical trials are under-represented in Ireland, whereas the industry is over-represented," he says. "It creates an anomaly."

Gillings says clinical trials are the type of expertise that the Government is hoping to attract, to help Ireland make the transition to a strong knowledge-intensive economy by funding world-class research here.

If the right supports and network is in place, he says he could see Quintiles moving its clinical trials business to Ireland, where it already employs 450 people at Dublin's East Point Business Park.

Quintiles set up in here in 1990 with just three people.

"I would actually like to see us do clinical trials directly here," Gillings points out at the unveiling of the company's $6 million (€3.8 million) investment in the newly refurbished Quintiles-Innovex offices.

The establishment of clinical trials would create a "positive feedback loop" for the entire biopharma industry here, with the trials business and manufacturing complementing each other and attracting more biopharma business to the country.

Ireland now boasts 32 manufacturing plants which are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, producing six of the 10 best-selling drugs in the world.

With Quintiles having helped to develop or commercialise every one of today's top 30 drugs, it is easy to see where it could find synergies for an Irish-based clinical trials business.

"It seems to me it would be good for the pharmaceutical companies and for Ireland and for my company and for others. I see it as a win-win," he says.

While political support would be welcome, Gillings also says that financial support is necessary to help put in place the networks of physicians necessary for clinical trials to take place.

At the moment, more than 90 per cent of the company's Dublin employees are graduates who are engaged in a variety of activities.

These include project management, data management, drug-safety reporting, pharmacovigilance (the study of adverse side-effects), medical support for therapeutic specialities, biostatistics, medical writing and regulatory affairs.

"They are pretty important areas and they have been growing strongly here in Ireland," Gillings adds.

Staff numbers in Ireland have risen by 20 per cent in the past two years and Gillings expects that trend to continue. Globally the corporation, with more than 21,000 employees in 50 countries, also expects to increase by 20 per cent this year.

British-born Gillings is regarded as a pioneer in the area of contract research for the pharmaceutical industry.

A biostatistics professor, he began by consulting for pharmaceutical companies out of a trailer at the University of North Carolina.

With a passion for numbers, statistical analysis and advancing medicine, Gillings looked ahead to see where drug development research was going.

In the 1970s and early 1980s, pharmaceutical companies were accustomed to doing their own research and running their own statistics, but they began looking to outside companies for help in running clinical trials.

Gillings set up Quintiles in 1982 to cater for this trend. It proved to be an inspired move, with the company now valued at more than €2 billion.