The European Commission (EC), the Heads of Medicines Agencies (HMA) and EMA have jointly developed two new targets for clinical trials, to monitor progress against the ambition to make the European Union (EU) a more attractive destination for clinical research and improve timely access to innovative medicines for patients. In five years, the aim is that:

• An additional 500 multinational clinical trials are added to the current average of 900 that are already authorised each year (i.e. an estimated 100 per year).
• Two thirds (66%) of clinical trials should begin recruiting patients within 200 calendar days or less from the date of application submission. This is in comparison to only 50% of clinical trials today.

These ambitious goals build on ongoing efforts to create a more supportive environment for clinical research. A key part of this is the Accelerating Clinical Trials in the EU (ACT EU) initiative, a collaboration between EC, HMA and EMA, which seeks to optimise how clinical…