The Pharmaceutical Companies Association (Les Entreprises du Médicament, LEEM) has published the 15th edition of its survey on France’s attractiveness for clinical research, linking trial performance more explicitly with the commercial conditions used to support pharmaceutical investment.
The survey, Enquête attractivité de la France pour la recherche clinique – Mai 2026 (Survey on the attractiveness of France for clinical research – May 2026), places France in a more competitive international research environment. More than 9,000 clinical trials are launched worldwide each year, with Asia now accounting for 63% of new trials, ahead of the Americas and Europe.
Within Europe, Spain remains the leading country, participating in 64% of new European trials, ahead of Germany, the UK and France. LEEM presents France as retaining substantial clinical assets, including its hospital network and expertise in oncology and early-phase research, but still constrained by slower operational performance. The survey reports 185 days to first patient inclusion, against a national objective of 120 days.
LEEM identifies three priorities: improving performance across the trial cycle, accelerating the use of new methodologies, and making greater use of incentives. Its recommendations include recognising clinical research activity in price negotiations, with the report referring to discussions on the framework agreement with the Economic Committee for Health Products (Comité économique des produits de santé, CEPS).
That proposal would connect research activity in France more directly with the commercial terms discussed during price-setting. It remains an industry recommendation, but it signals how clinical-research attractiveness could feature in future CEPS framework discussions, alongside the established pricing criteria applied to reimbursed medicines.
Source: Pharmaceutical Companies Association
Link: Enquête attractivité de la France pour la recherche clinique – Mai 2026 (Survey on the attractiveness of France for clinical research – May 2026)
Date: 19 May 2026
