Michael McHale , 2025-05-21 11:53:00
IPHA publication found that average time to recruit first patient onto trials reduced significantly last year
There was a 34 per cent increase in the number of pharma-sponsored clinical trials started in Ireland in 2024 compared to 2023 (43 vs 32 respectively), while the average time to recruit the first patient onto a trial dropped by 31 per cent, a new report has found.
The Clinical Trials Activity Comparison Report by the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA) found that 43 trials sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry commenced here last year, compared to 32 in 2023.
On average it took 46 days for the first patient to be recruited onto these trials in 2024, which was 21 days faster than 2023’s average of 67 days.
However, Ireland still lags many of its European peers. In 2024, Ireland ranked eighteenth out of 27 EU countries in clinical trials per capita. When the data over a two-year period (2023-2024) is compared to that of Denmark, which has a similar population and economic wealth to Ireland, a total of 75 pharmaceutical industry sponsored clinical trials commenced in Ireland during this period compared to 229 in Denmark – just over three times as many as Ireland.
In 2024 former Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, stated he would like to see Ireland double its clinical trials activity. If this ambition was matched, it could rise Ireland from eighteenth to fourth place in Europe for clinical trials per capita.
Welcoming the findings, the IPHA said it fully supports the implementation of the interim recommendations of the National Clinical Trials Oversight Group to support the expansion of clinical trials and to meet the ambitions set out in the Programme for Government to increase the number of these studies.
Dr Rebecca Cramp, IPHA’s director of code and regulatory affairs, said: “The progress we’ve made in increasing the number of clinical trials and improving time to first patient is welcome, but we must move faster to ensure patients in Ireland gain earlier access to innovative and potentially life-saving treatments.
“IPHA is proposing practical, high-impact reforms that can be implemented quickly with the continued collaboration with all stakeholders. Ireland has the clinical talent, the infrastructure, and the industry investment. Now we need a clinical research ecosystem that matches our ambition and capabilities.
“IPHA remains committed to working with the Health Service Executive, Department of Health, academic institutions, and hospitals to ensure Ireland becomes a leading destination for clinical trials in Europe—so that patients here are among the first to benefit from medical innovation.”
To create a more attractive environment for the commencement of clinical trials here, the IPHA has called for a number of measures to be introduced, including standardised trial start-up and sign-off processes, the embedding of such studies into clinical care and the development of a robust digital healthcare system to speed up the identification of suitable patients.
