According to GlobalData’s Clinical Trials Database, out of all the clinical trials with a 2024 start date, 41.4% of trials were ongoing, recruiting; 32.2% were planned; 17.0% were completed; and 2.0% were suspended, terminated, or withdrawn (S/T/W).

Compared to 2023, the number of ongoing trials was 1.0 times lower, and the number of planned trials was 1.16 times lower. The number of S/T/W trials in 2024 was 0.2 times lower than in 2023. This could be attributed to post-pandemic adjustment where sponsors are less focused on Covid-19 vaccines and therapeutics, and are now focused on resuming normal trial activity.

Non-industry sponsors initiated 1.4 times more trials than industry sponsors, similar to 2023. More completed trials had industry sponsors than non-industry sponsors. More S/T/W trials had industry sponsors than non-industry sponsors, with only a very small difference in trials.

For ongoing, recruiting, and planned trials, non-industry sponsors dominated the trial landscape. Phase I trials account for 42.2% of trials in China in 2024, compared to 39.2% in 2023. Unlike previous years, South Korea also conducted a high amount of Phase I trials at 33.4%. Most of these trials were focused on metabolic disorders and cardiovascular health. Phase II dominated trials in the US with 45.1%, which was the same as in 2023. Similar to previous years, Iran led Phase III trials with 59.3% of trials. Most of these trials investigated the central nervous system (368 trials) and women’s health (116 trials). India had the highest proportion (29.1%) of trials in Phase IV. Similar to previous years, this could be attributed to India’s rule that drugs approved in the UK, EU, Australia, Canada, Japan, or the US no longer need clinical trials in India, which sped up drug approvals and removed large study requirements. However, pharmaceutical companies still need to conduct Phase IV trials after the drug has been marketed to gather post-marketing, real-world evidence and to evaluate long-term effects.

Figure 1: Clinical trials top countries, by phase and distribution, 2024