अमूर्त

Developing clinical research culture in advancing medical research: An industry perspective

Manish Narang*, Ramanpreet Walia, Upendra Kaul and Krishnakutty Sudhir

 The 20th century witnessed tremendous breakthroughs in medical research by virtue of a plethora of discoveries and advances in fundamental biology and disease management. The 21st century is taking medicine to unprecedented heights. Clinical research sponsored by a flourishing industry shaped our understanding of modern medicine. However, industry funded clinical research cannot answer all medical questions. In this review, we look at the growing impetus on investigator initiated studies, their impact on deeper understanding of real world needs, involvement of pharmaceutical, devices and imaging industry in supporting investigator or institution initiated research and instances of such successful endeavours that has changed the way medicine is practised. We also delve into the changing landscape of clinical research ecosystem in the light of recent advances in technologies like genomics, biologics, companion diagnostics and precision medicine system and the urgent need of creating and supporting a culture of research among individual clinicians, institutions, public and Government bodies in alleviating global disease burden. We recommend structural and functional models of association between the industry and investigator initiated research in order to overcome the traditional challenges of such research and pave the way for a fruitful and collaborative approach towards inclusive and comprehensive patient centric disease management.