Europe’s share of clinical trials is shrinking.

Omissions

• The MEP did not specify a time period, metric (industry vs. all trials, trial starts vs. trial places), or the magnitude of the decline. The share decline is confirmed but varies significantly depending on the metric used: industry trial starts fell from 22% (2013) to 12% (2023), while all clinical trials fell from 30% (2016) to 21% (2024).
• The MEP cited no source for the claim. The data consistently cited across sources originates from IQVIA, a private clinical trial intelligence provider, not a public official statistics body like Eurostat or the EMA.
• The EFPIA (European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations) is an industry lobby group with an interest in highlighting Europe's declining competitiveness to advocate for regulatory reform. However, the underlying IQVIA data it cites is independently collected and corroborated across multiple publications.
• Some sources were published after the session date but contain data from periods before the session date.

Sources

• PrimaryIQVIA (EMEA Blog) – The case for investment and change in European life sciencesEurope's share of clinical trials has dropped from 30% in 2016 to just 21% in 2024 (Figure 3), while clinical trial activity has shifted notably to Asia-Pacific and China.
• SecondaryEFPIA – Clinical Trials overview pageDespite a 38% increase in global clinical trials over the past decade, Europe's share has dropped from 22% in 2013 to 12% in 2023. That's 60,000 fewer trial places for Europeans.
• SecondaryEFPIA – The economic impact of industry clinical trials across Europe (PDF)While the number of industry clinical trials worldwide increased by 38% between 2013 and 2023, Europe's share fell from 22% to 12% (IQVIA 2024).
• SecondaryInnovative Health Initiative (IHI) – Making Europe more attractive for conducting clinical trialsAlthough global clinical trials increased by 38% over the last decade, the European Economic Area's share of those trials halved.