Belgium ranks among the absolute world leaders in terms of clinical trials. In 2015, 1,578 studies into innovative medicines were being carried out in our country, making Belgium rank 2nd in Europe as to the number of studies per inhabitant. Each year, more than 100,000 Belgians participate to clinical trials. Moreover, the number of clinical trials carried out per year keeps on increasing.
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As a matter of fact, Belgium has a number of major assets. Our country hosts a large number of pharmaceutical companies and can rely on the extensive expertise of more than 70 hospitals with their highly specialized clinical staff. Besides, as the approval procedures for clinical trials are short, Belgium is an attractive destination for clinical research.
Thanks to the large number of clinical trials, patients too benefit substantially from the Belgian system facilitating access to innovative treatments. Numerous clinical trials focus on cancer, as well as on digestive diseases, respiratory diseases, immunological disorders and central nervous system disorders.
By the end of 2018, new European regulations shall enter into force providing for the harmonisation of the application and approval procedures for clinical trials within the European Union. In order to maintain its position of international leader, Belgium has made a Pact for the future with the pharmaceutical sector. This Pact shall ensure that the industry receives extra finance in a stable, predictable and budgetary framework, among others through a tax concession of 13% on its turnover. That way, the companies get the necessary space to keep on investing in the development of new medicines. And the Pact has produced its first results. Recently, two pharmaceutical world leaders, Sanofi and Johnson & Johnson, have announced major investments for research and development in Belgium.
