An Advantageous Landscape for Conducting Clinical Research
Latin America is often considered during the early phases of study drug development planning because of the following advantages:
- Growing population. 80% of the population is centered in three major cities: Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, and Mexico City
- The concentration of potential trial subjects can enhance patient recruitment and require fewer sites
- Qualified, reliable, and committed medical professionals
- Based on a strong patient/physician relationship, Latin America enjoys excellent patient retention (> 90%)
- There is less competition for patients in Latin America versus Europe and the US and a significant portion of naïve patients (both treatment and trial naïve)
- The region enjoys a heterogeneous ethnic and epidemiological profile
- A significant portion of the population is under 14 years old (27%)
- Strong enrollment rates and higher patient-compliance
- Drop-out rates usually 50% lower than other regions
- Spanish and Portuguese as unique languages. This factor can save time, money and personnel requirements
- Reverse seasons: Southern hemisphere affords year-round recruitment for seasonal diseases (e.g., respiratory infections, infective diarrhea, allergic rhinitis)
- Established regulatory environment in most of the countries
- Data quality within the average of the industry, competing well with developed markets such as the United States
- Substantial market for later sale of approved drugs
