Spain has surpassed Germany as European leader in clinical trials
The success is down to the high quality of the hospitals and the private-public collaboration in the field
Spain has now become the continental leader in clinical trials, studies and research. Clinical studies involve the experimentation of the efficacy and safety of a new medicine or a diagnostic or therapeutic procedure before it can be authorised and used for the patient who needs it.
Last year, Spanish research centres, laboratories, hospitals and outpatient clinics started 485 new clinical trials. This number was enough to knock Germany off the top spot in the European Union. Germany in comparison had 417 clinical trials last year, which is 14% less than Spain.
Only five years ago, Spain was in third place on the continent, far behind the clinical research capabilities of the Germans and the British. Now, the British have left the Union and Spain has upped its game and has taken top spot.
Experts believe that the data shows that Spain has become a model of success in this type of trials, which should be emulated by many of its continental partners, where applied clinical research is clearly in decline.
Spain’s ability to grow in the field of clinical studies is down to an ecosystem which is built on attracting investors who have contributed to its growth in the last decade. Moreover, the important collaboration between the private pharmaceutical industry and public institutions has also helped with the growth of clinical trials in the country.
However, despite the positive leap forward made by the Spanish health system, the report reveals that the European Union and other members of its economic space such as Great Britain are falling behind in applied clinical research.
The European Union is suffering in the field of clinical trials and is now far behind the United States and China. Furthermore, the study confirms that clinical trials have increased worldwide by 38% in the last five years, but the international weight of those initiated in the EU has been reduced by almost half. They have gone from 22% of the total in 2018 to 12% in 2023.
Western Europe has gone from being second in the world of clinical trials, behind the United States, to fifth, behind China, Asia and Russia. The decline in new clinical trials over the last decade has occurred in most fields of scientific work. There are clear declines in studies on oncology therapies, immunisation, rare diseases and cell and gene therapies
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