Roche partners 10 govt hospitals to strengthen clinical trial capabilities in India

New Delhi: Roche Pharma India has successfully completed the first phase of its Advanced Inclusive Research (AIR) Site Alliance initiative in India, having partnered with 10 leading government hospitals from across the country and trained nearly 400 professionals including investigators, ethics committee members and support staff to global Good Clinical Practice (GCP) standards.

The 10 sites include AIIMS, Rishikesh; Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi; PGIMS, Rohtak; Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Research Center, Muzaffarpur; Balco Medical Centre, Raipur; Government Medical College, Aurangabad; Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health, Bengaluru; Dr. Bhubaneswar Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI), Guwahati; Kalyan Singh Super Speciality Cancer Institute & Hospital, Lucknow; and Acharya Harihar Post Graduate Institute of Cancer, Cuttack.

This milestone marks a significant step forward in strengthening India’s readiness to participate in global and local clinical trials, enabling faster patient access to breakthrough therapies and ensuring India’s diverse population is better represented in clinical research.

The project aligns closely with India’s national priorities, including the CDSCO’s encouragement for greater participation of government sites in Phase 3 and 4 trials and the Pharmaceutical Research and Innovation Policy (PRIP) initiative that explicitly encouraged industry-academia partnerships to strengthen R&D capabilities, build clinical trial infrastructure and enhance India’s global competitiveness in innovative research. This initiative supports the vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047 — creating a future-ready, world-class healthcare ecosystem where India emerges as a global hub for clinical research, accelerates access to breakthrough innovations, and delivers equitable health outcomes for every citizen.

India accounts for 17% of the world’s population and 20% of the global disease burden, yet fewer than 4% of global clinical trials are conducted here. This gap means Indian patients often wait years after global approvals to access breakthrough therapies.

Launched in 2023, the initiative focused on streamlining internal processes, building digital readiness for better data capture and monitoring and delivering tailored training programs to enhance operational efficiency.

“By equipping leading government hospitals with global-standard clinical trial capabilities, we are helping to bring innovations faster to India. This is  a crucial step toward building equitable healthcare and shaping treatments that are relevant for India,” said Dr Sivabalan Sivanesan, Country Medical Director, Roche Pharma India.

Dr Amit Sehrawat – Associate Professor, Medical Oncology & Hematology, AIIMS, Rishikesh said, “This initiative is a strong example of how public–private partnerships can accelerate capacity-building and strengthen India’s clinical research ecosystem. India carries a significant burden of cancer, infectious and chronic diseases, yet has historically been underrepresented in global trials. By enabling government hospitals to participate in cutting-edge research, this program ensures Indian patients are part of the evidence generation process — helping make treatments safer, more effective and relevant for our population.”

Dr Vyunkta Raju K N, Professor, Dept of Paediatric Neurology, Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health said: “The AIR Site Alliance program has been transformational. Our investigators and ethics committees are now better equipped to conduct global-standard research. This collaboration has given our institutions new opportunities to bring advanced research directly to our patients.”