Cardiovascular research in India: a perspective

With cardiovascular disease (CVD) emerging as a major cause of mortality in India, clinical research in CVD is becoming increasingly important. There are several favorable factors that offer robust growth of clinical research infrastructure in India: well-established system of governance, a large investment in medical education infrastructure, growing interest in building capacity in clinical research, the presence of regulatory mechanisms governing clinical research, a large pharmaceutical industry, and a highly developed information technology and data processing infrastructure. However, the lack of trained research manpower, inadequate public spending on health, uneven distribution of health infrastructure, and the large prevalence of pretransitional diseases are major weakness in undertaking high-quality clinical research in CVD. Analysis of the contemporary scenario reveals that there are 3 important opportunities for clinical research in India: the need to identify low cost but cutting edge and context-specific interventions to address the health needs of India's large population, the potential for high-quality research, and the high degree of interest (domestically and internationally) in investing in clinical research education and infrastructure.