RIYADH: The Clinical Trial Unit, in coordination with King Saud University Medical City (KSUMC), hosted a webinar to discuss major advances in clinical research, challenges to progress, and the future of clinical research in the Kingdom.
“Research in Saudi Arabia has improved dramatically over the past 10 years, and we are seeing better knowledge, better policies, better research quality, and I know for sure it is going to be even better in the next decade,” Dr. Hani Al-Hashmi, Pfizer’s newly appointed senior medical director and official spokesman, said during the webinar.
Clinical researchers discussed ways to innovate and push the field forward. KSUMC CEO Prof. Ahmad Hersi said: “The industry’s needs and challenges should be tended to if we would like to advance and attract more clinical trials to Saudi Arabia.”
Highlighting future initiatives in the field of clinical research, he added: “(We should) make sure that our centers are well accredited, the data we provide is of high quality, and definitely this will have a benefit for the country in terms of job creation and attracting investments.”
The webinar reviewed challenges to progress in clinical research in Saudi Arabia, such as investment.
The Kingdom spends 0.8 percent of its gross domestic product on research and development, while the US spends 2.7 percent.
Dr. Farah Alammari, a postdoctoral research scientist at the King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, stressed the need to privatize the research sector to make it attractive for private companies to sponsor studies at research centers associated with various universities.