South Africa is not being used enough as a site for clinical trials of new drugs, according to one expert on the country's role in the industry.

Catherine Lund, who founded OnQ Consulting, an organisation which helps firms conduct clinical trials by helping identify sites and providing patient documents, told news website Outsourcing-Pharma.com that the country remains "underutilised" despite the advantages it can offer firms.

"Eastern Europe is getting more and more expensive, so South Africa has a cost advantage there," she was quoted as saying.

Ms Lund, who is also vice-chapter head of the South African arm of the Associate of Clinical Research Professionals, added that the nation has a broad patient population with many people having never received previous medical treatment for a condition they have.

"Because of this we often recruit for trials quite quickly compared to other parts of the world," she added.

According to South Africa's health department, there are more than 200 clinical trials currently underway in the country, with 146 of them focusing on bacterial and fungal diseases.

However, Ms Lund suggested that South Africa's distance from the US makes some firms wary of starting trials there.

Masters can deliver comparator drug for clinical trials to locations around the world and is able to source medicines from more than 200 suppliers.