Research: EU countries slow to start clinical studies
Due to complex and extensive regulations, it usually takes months before such investigations can start. Researchers from UMC Utrecht and others point out that it can certainly be much faster, especially in times of crisis.
During the coronavirus pandemic, there was an enormous need for clinical research into the best treatment for the new virus. Yet, it still took an average of 183 days in the EU before contracts with hospitals were finalized, researchers calculate in the scientific journal JAMA. In the Netherlands, the average was 138 days.
That it can be much faster was demonstrated by the United Kingdom. There, a medical research contract normally takes about two hundred days in the pipeline, but during the pandemic, it was suddenly possible to finalize it within five days due to accelerated procedures.
(July 3, 2025)
