The government of Colombia, in collaboration with the clinical development firm Interventional Concepts, is actively seeking to promote Colombia as a destination for early-stage clinical trials. Between 1995 and 2013, 738 clinical trials were conducted in the country. Although approximately 90 percent of those studies were in the pharmaceutical space, a growing number are being performed in the medical technology field for companies such as Avinger, Kona Medical, and InterValve. According to the government/industry alliance, some of the key benefits of doing clinical work in Colombia are:

• High enrollment rates
• Competitive costs
• Motivated, bi-lingual investigators
• Fast and predictable regulatory pathway
• Well-developed healthcare infrastructure and business environment for clinical trials
• Fast product importation
• Over 120 government-certified research sites with more than 20 years experience and quality standards comparable to the US

For more information, see the alliance press release and presentation.