NIH confirms cut-back in Indian trials but large sponsors hope for reform

In what is probably one of its more lucid responses on the scrapping of a large number of clinical studies in India, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the largest source of funding for medical research in the world, has said that the Indian trials were stopped mainly because of the country's evolving trial regulations.

While the NIH's action is worrisome coming from an institute of its stature, reactions are mixed on whether this mirrors the general outlook towards Indian trials. Some industry experts contacted by Scrip expressed little surprise at the US agency's action while others felt that the NIH's own funding pressures too may have had some role in the cut-back, and this may not have really been India-specific