Total health expenditure as % of gross domestic product (GDP): 2.9
55 medical universities & postgraduate education institutes
145 scientific research institutes
25,800 researchers and lecturers
300 medical institutions licensed for clinical trials
Investigators
Recent increase in the number of experienced investigators, sub-investigators, study site coordinators and trial nurses
Highly motivated and GCP trained Investigators
High recruitment rates of eligible patients
High speed of recruitment
Investigators collect and enter study data personally and do not delegate sensitive tasks to research nurses like in Western countries
Excellent co-operation between Investigator and Clinical Monitor
In comparison with other countries the number of dropouts and data queries is very favorable
High-quality and reliable clinical research data
Patients
Large pool of potential study subjects
Disease incidence is frequently higher than that in the U.S. and Western Europe (for instance, Russia has the highest rate of cardiovascular mortality in the world, male death rate from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Asthma is almost 5 times higher than in the US)
Concomitant medications use is very low (even in patients with chronic diseases)
Large number of drug-naive patients
High costs of medications that are mostly not covered by health insurance companies
Patients are willing to participate in clinical trials
Good patient compliance
Large in- and outpatient facilities offer direct access to patients
