R&D investment by innovative pharmaceutical companies to exceed 1.5 billion euros by 2024
The Pharmaceutical R&D Survey 2024 reflects a steady increase in investment in clinical research over the last decade, which has grown at 7% per year.
Direct employment in research and development now exceeds 6,000 workers.
‘The effort made by companies in this area is remarkable and has allowed us to position ourselves as a world leader in clinical trials, one of the main items from which Spanish patients benefit directly,’ says Juan Yermo, director general of Farmaindustria, on the occasion of World Clinical Trials Day, which is celebrated this Tuesday, 20 May.
Farmaindustria.es
The innovative pharmaceutical industry’s commitment to R&D in Spain continues to grow to more than 1,500 million euros in 2024, according to the forecasts of the Survey on R&D in the pharmaceutical industry 2024, which Farmaindustria conducts annually among its associates.
Farmaindustria.es
The data reflect a steady increase in investment in research and development over the last decade, with a special focus on clinical research, which has increased at 7% per year and reached 900 million euros in 2023.
Farmaindustria.es
In this sense, investment in clinical trials has increased, especially in early phases, and already accounted for a total of 900 million euros in 2023. In Spain, according to the latest data, the pharmaceutical industry finances 83% of the clinical trials carried out.
Farmaindustria.es
‘The effort made by companies in this field is remarkable and has allowed us to position ourselves as a world leader in clinical trials, one of the main items from which Spanish patients benefit directly,’ says Juan Yermo, Director General of Farmaindustria, on the occasion of World Clinical Trials Day, which is celebrated on Tuesday 20 May. The investment effort is one of the main reasons why Spain has managed to become a reference in this field.
Another trend in R&D investment by companies is the increase in extramural projects, i.e. in collaboration with hospitals, universities and public and private centres. This now accounts for almost 45% of investment and is a fundamental contribution to the biomedical research ecosystem in Spain, as it fosters the improvement of researchers’ qualifications, enables the financial sustainability of the centres and facilitates early access to novel treatments for patients.
Farmaindustrial.es
Historic increase in research personnel
The R&D carried out by the pharmaceutical industry is also a driving force for qualified employment, which now exceeds 6,000 people in Spain. In fact, compared to 2022, it grew by 9.5%, the highest growth in 20 years. These personnel are also highly qualified, with a percentage of university graduates (bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees) of 90%.
Farmaindustria.es
“The pharmaceutical sector in Spain is a major driver of high-quality, qualified, egalitarian and diverse employment. In the case of research personnel, two out of three are women and nine out of ten are university graduates,” says the director general of Farmaindustria.
R&D is, together with production and access to new medicines, one of the pillars of the Strategy for the Pharmaceutical Industry in Spain, approved by the Government in December 2024, which seeks to make the country a world leader in innovation and biopharmaceutical industrialisation and to constitute a great pillar for the health, economic and social future of our country.
