• Research and development funding has increased:
  • Biopharma funding increased for the second consecutive year in 2024.
  • Total large-pharma R&D spending continued to increase.
• Clinical trial start volumes have stabilized:
  • Trial starts have fully returned to pre-pandemic levels.
  • Priorities have continued to shift.
• Clinical program productivity has increased:
  • Improvement in productivity was driven by a success-rate increase in Phase III trials.
• Cycle times are stabilizing:
  • Enrollment duration – the largest opportunity to improve trial cycle times – stabilized in 2024 after having increased between 2021 and 2023.
  • Inter-trial intervals now typically account for 17 months of total development time across an R&D program; this figure has improved greatly since the 2022 peak of 32 months at the height of the pandemic.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The life sciences innovation ecosystem continued to evolve and expand in 2024 as the industry continued to adapt to a complex and dynamic range of geopolitical, technological and social uncertainties. The year saw progress in funding, trial starts, program productivity and cycle times, according to the new report, Global Trends in R&D 2025: Progress in Recapturing Innovation in Biopharma Innovation, released by the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science.

“Increases in funding, normalization of clinical trial starts, stabilization or acceleration of key cycle time drivers, and improvements in late-stage success and clinical productivity — all of which were observed in 2024 — demonstrate meaningful yea…