SPAIN, EUROPEAN LEADER IN CLINICAL TRIALS

Spain is the new European leader in the number of clinical trials initiated in 2023, having surpassed Germany. This is highlighted in the report Evaluating the Clinical Trial Ecosystem in Europe, produced by the consultancy Iqvia for Efpia and Vaccines Europe.

Spain’s success is due to the implementation of the European clinical trial regulation, which Spain was the first country to adopt in 2016. This new regulation has driven Spain to increase investment by 5.7% annually and to adopt a proactive, coordinated, and cross-sectional approach, facilitating the creation of an effective and high-quality biomedical research network, mainly due to five factors:

• The quality of the healthcare system, with excellent hospital infrastructure.
• The alignment of national legislation with European clinical trial regulations.
• The creation of more than three research centers per 10,000 km² in the country.
• Collaboration between the public and private sectors.
• The initiation of more than 20 trials per year related to immunization.

Strategies such as reducing bureaucracy, promoting research in primary care, and a new accelerated start-up procedure for early-phase trials have boosted Spain’s leadership, which will need to be consolidated in the coming years.

However, although the number of clinical trials initiated in Spain has increased, Europe has recorded a 20% reduction in the number of patients recruited, compared to a 12% increase recorded worldwide. It is therefore necessary to launch a European clinical research programme to prevent Europe from continuing to lose competitiveness against countries such as China and the USA in such a strategic area as biomedical research.

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