Clinical trials
The number of ongoing clinical trials in Finland has been followed since the early 1990s. Through an annual questionnaire targeted at the members, Pharma Industry Finland has established the number of new and ongoing trials.
Clinical trials constitute one form of investment in Finland. The trials employ doctors and research staff, promote pharmaceutical progress and make the new pharmacotherapies freely accessible to the research patients.
Pharmaceutical research is strictly regulated, and launching a clinical trial is subject to the approval of an ethical committee and a notification to the Finnish Medicines Agency Fimea.
The On going Clinical Trials by ATC class 2011.pdf
In the past, most clinical trials were done in Europe. The situation has changed, and an increasing number of trials are done in North America, mainly the United States. During the past two decades, Japan has played a growing role.
The development of a new pharmaceutical will take 10 to 15 years. Only a small number of the pharmaceutical molecules developed ever enter the market. Research tends to advance a small, expensive step at a time, but the smallest innovations add up to the progress of pharmacotherapies.