The Current Status of Clinical Trials in Thailand

Abstract

Approximately the size of France, Thailand has a population of 60 million people, of whom approximately 90% are Buddhist. The country has become industrialized in recent years. There are 10 public and one private medical schools. Under the Ministry of Public Health, there are 33 hospitals at the national and regional levels which are primarily categorized as special hospitals, 92 general hospitals at the provincial level, and 707 community hospitals at the district level. There are also approximately 75 general hospitals under other ministries.

A number of clinical trial centers have been established with support from international organizations and agencies in developed countries. Most clinical trials are conducted in medical schools and general and special hospitals at the provincial, regional, and national levels. In most medical schools and research centers, there is an institutional review board (IRB). Under the Ministry of Public Health, there is an ethics committee (EC) responsible for ethical review of proposals for clinical trials conducted by staff in the Ministry and in any hospital or institute under the responsibility of the Ministry. The ethical considerations of the IRB and EC basically follow international guidelines.

The concept and practice of Good Clinical Practice (GCP) in research is quite new in Thailand. The development of GCP would seem desirable, however, because Thai researchers have opportunities to become skilled at GCP from leading organizations and they have demonstrated a positive tendency to accept and follow the standard procedure for GCP. In addition, most Thai people are cooperative in terms of responding positively to informed consent.