Covance recently opened new clinical development offices in Seoul, South Korea, and Mumbai, India, building on the contract research organization’s (CRO) two-decade history in the Asia-Pacific region.

The new and expanded offices will help the CRO meet growing demand for clinical development services in Asia-Pacific. The Seoul office will increase patient access in the region and support Covance’s field-based clinical research associates throughout Asia-Pacific, while the Mumbai office will serve as the CRO’s main support hub for the Indian sub-continent.

The company also expanded its offices in Tokyo, Japan, and Hong Kong, China, to increase service capacity in these countries. The Tokyo office will provide additional room for both clinical development and central laboratory services in the Japanese clinical trial market.

"Our new Asia-Pacific offices support our global expansion strategy, which targets the most qualified investigators and appropriate patient populations in a region that is increasingly important to clinical trials," said Nick Wright, vice president and general manager, clinical development services Asia-Pacific, Covance. "These offices will help us increase our clients' phase II/III clinical trial productivity by providing additional capacity to execute clinical studies with a full range of services."

The year 2009 was a big year for growth in emerging markets at Covance, which opened nine new offices in Asia Pacific, Latin America and Eastern Europe.