The number of clinical trials with medical equipment and medicines in Denmark is record high looking back over the past 10 years. The Covid-19 pandemic has attributed in part to the growth, but like previous years, the oncology area is still responsible for most studies. 

In 2020, the Danish Medicines Agency received 362 applications for clinical drug trials, which is an increase of 13 per cent compared to the number of applications received in 2019. While in the past decade, the number of clinical trial applications has fluctuated from year to year of about 10 percent – both up and down – the picture the last two years has been an increasing trend and 2020 is now the year with the highest number of applications in the registered time period. 

According to the Danish Medicines Agency, a large part of the increase can be attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led to several industry initiated trials within infectious diseases caused by the coronavirus in particular. This is also the case for the number for large non-commercial Covid-19 trials increasing 85 per cent compared to 2019.

Despite Corona, the oncology area, with 114 applications, is once again the most common area of therapy among applications for clinical drug trials. Neurological disorders come in second place with 40 applications, while infections - including those related to corona - accounted for 39 of the year's 362 applications.  

"The number of applications within the oncology area in 2020 has now increased by approximately 21 per cent compared with 2019 and thus, the trend from last year is being followed" 

The Danish Medicines Agency

Of the 362 applications for the start-up of clinical trials in Denmark, the Danish Medicines Agency received in 2020, 345 of them were approved, which corresponds to 95 per cent of all trials applied for in 2020. Only three applications were rejected, while 10 applications were withdrawn by the applicant before the case was completed. In four cases, a final decision has not yet been made. 

Having the right conditions for conducting clinical trials is high on the political agenda in Denmark, which was clear when the government introduced their ‘Life Science Strategy 2021-2023’. The new strategy for the Danish life sciences industry is composed of 38 new initiatives in seven main fields. Eighteen of the initiatives aims to improve the conditions for clinical trials including:

• lowering the fees associated with clinical trials, 
• bringing down approval time for clinical trials – already among the fastest in Europe,
• initiating a new pilot project on virtual clinical trials and lastly, 
• making patient data more accessible.