As 20 May marks Clinical Trials Day 2026, the ‘Research Rising’ theme has never seemed so apt, as trial initiations in Q1 2026 saw an uptick, with key R&D player China continuing to cultivate its dominance within the clinical trials landscape.
According to GlobalData’s Pharmaceutical Intelligence Center, the number of global Phase I-III trials initiated in Q1 2026 rose 1.3% compared with the same quarter in 2025. Of these new studies, China was responsible for a third of those trials, while the country also posted a 6.5% year-on-year (YoY) growth in study debuts.
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This uptick in clinical research comes as China now accounts for one-fifth of all drugs in development globally – signalling the country’s shift away from its prior role as a ‘me too’ pharmaceutical provider. As China continues to cement its reputation as an innovative medicines powerhouse, many are turning to Chinese biotech and pharma companies to restock their pipelines through licensing deals, which hope to usher in the next generation of blockbuster medicines.
While many are placing the spotlight on China’s cataclysmic rise, other key players like Europe and the US are also making moves to supercharge their clinical trials sectors, as the number of Phase I-III study initiations in each region grew 9.8% and 12% YoY, respectively.
On a global scale, the majority of the new trials for Q1 were in Phase II, though China equalised its Phase I and II output in the quarter – highlighting the country’s growing focus on early-stage R&D.
Despite the general positive trend towards further clinical-stage R&D, GlobalData’s ‘State of the Biopharma Industry 2026’ report notes that burgeoning clinical trial costs caused by an uptick in study complexity remain challenging for the sector.
Oncology steals the show, but new disease areas gain notoriety
When looking at trial initiations across the 2020s thus far, oncology has continued its long-standing reign as the top disease area for clinical studies in 2025, accounting for 33% of the new trials started within the year.
This comes as MSD’s checkpoint inhibitor, Keytruda (pembrolizumab), and Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J’s) anti-CD38 therapy, Darzalex (daratumumab), remain in the top ten best-sellers list for pharmaceuticals.
However, some disease areas that have traditionally garnered less support from sponsors are being increasingly adopted, as the number of metabolic disease trials shot up 47% between 2024 and 2025.
The booming interest in metabolic studies rears its head as the success of the glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) class continues to grow, with medicines from the tirzepatide and semaglutide franchises from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk becoming some of the top-selling medicines of all time in recent years.
Off the back of this success, many companies are trying to break into the increasingly crowded marketplace via alternative weight loss drugs, while others look to target the downstream conditions of obesity like metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).
Meanwhile, immunology-focused studies are also on the rise, with the number of trials initiated in the disease area ballooning more than 43% between 2024 and 2025 as drugs like Sanofi’s Dupixent (dupilumab) and AbbVie’s Skyrizi (risankizumab) become mega-blockbuster sellers.
In a previous conversation with Pharmaceutical Technology, Zai Lab’s president and COO, Josh Smiley, predicted that immunology will continue to be a prevalent focus for both Chinese licensors and global companies on the hunt for new pipeline assets.
