Improving New Zealand’s environment to support innovation through clinical trials

On 10 February 2010 the Health Committee initiated an inquiry into improving New Zealand’s environment to support innovation through clinical trials.

Clinical trials of medicines, medical devices, and other therapies are intended primarily to benefit those suffering ill health. They are also beneficial to clinicians, medical scientists, innovators, and health standards in the country in which they are carried out. There are also potential downsides, for example for a patient who is in the control group or experiences side effects.

Currently Phase I – IV trials have been estimated to be worth between $12 million to $30 million per year in New Zealand, compared with Australia where they are worth $450 million per year.

In Australia, the Rudd government has instigated an ‘action group’ to cement the nation’s place as a good place for the conduct of clinical trials.

Since the Cartwright report, New Zealand has developed a very thorough and careful approach to clinical trials, through its National Ethics Committee system. Commentators consider that great benefit could be achieved by improving the environment for carrying out clinical trials in New Zealand as the system can be overly bureaucratic and slow.

The terms of reference for this inquiry are as follows:

The inquiry would include ways to ensure:

• Coordinated, nationwide approaches to clinical trials and performance measures
• Streamlined ethics approvals systems
• National patient referral networks, and better ways to approve, establish and conduct clinical trials
• Removal of unnecessary barriers
• Benefit to New Zealand patients through clinical trials, as well as the New Zealand innovation system, health system, and economy.

The committee will be calling for submissions soon.