10 surprising medical research statistics for Clinical Trials Day

Clinical Trials Day takes place on May 20 each year, and is a day to celebrate the thousands of medical research volunteers who participate in trials for a wide range of conditions. It's also a day to raise awareness of the fact that even more volunteers are needed to push medical research forward. 

In honor of Clinical Trials Day, we're sharing some interesting statistics that paint the picture of the current state of clinical research, and the importance of trial participation. Perhaps the most important is the fact is that more than 40 million patients are needed to meet the demand of currently enrolling trials. 

  • More than 18,000 clinical trials are actively recruiting patients in the U.S.
  • The FDA approved 309 new drugs between 2011 and 2018, 38 per year on average.
  • In 2018, the FDA approved 59 new drugs – an all-time high. 
  • 80% of clinical trials will not meet their patient enrollment deadlines.
  • The industry loses an average of $40 billion per year on drug development, part of which is due to trial delays. 
  • 95% of medical research volunteers would consider participating in another trial, according to a patient survey we conducted. 
  • 85% of patients are either unaware or unsure that participation in a clinical trial was an option at the time of diagnosis.
  • 75% of patients said they would have been willing to enroll in a clinical trial had they been aware of one
  • 33% of clinical trial participants join to help further medical research.
  • 29% of participants join to help improve the lives of others.

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