Number of US COVID-19 clinical trials surpasses China: GlobalData

There are more than 1,039 COVID-19 potential drugs and 2,737 clinical trials for COVID-19 globally, with more than 430 of these being run in the US, despite the pandemic causing disruptions in clinical trials, says GlobalData, a data and analytics company.

Johanna Swanson, Product Manager at GlobalData, comments, “The US has the highest number of COVID-19 trial sites, as there are ample patients to utilise in the trials. There are only 517 trial sites in Brazil, which is low considering the country has the second-highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases after the US which has 2,042. Brazil has more restrictive regulatory frameworks for trials, which could be reducing the number of sites.”

“The number of clinical trials in the US has surpassed the number of trials in China. It is unclear how many of the 690 (13 per cent) trial sites attached to currently planned trials in China will be able to be initiated, as China now reports very few cases of COVID-19, creating a limited pool of patients on whom to test interventions. Clinical trials in India also growing at a higher rate, and the country is now in fourth place for COVID-19 trials. Increased clinical trial activity in India is consistent with increasing COVID-19 positive cases in the country,” she states.

Clinical trial disruptions are still occurring globally, with the overwhelming majority of trial sites that are currently disrupted are located in the US, at 60 per cent. The US is currently seeing the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, with spikes in Florida, California, Arizona, and Texas. The highest numbers of site disruptions are found in California, Florida, Texas and New York, where the pandemic initially hit the hardest.