Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40949130›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in pharmacology2025

Tracking a decade of phase I clinical trials in Italy: trends and insights from national and european registries amid regulatory change.

Eleonora De Paola, Luna Del Bono, Diego Alejandro Dri, Raffaella Maione, Sandra Petraglia, Fabrizio Galliccia, Giovanni Gori

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in pharmacology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Eleonora De Paola *Clinical Trials Office, Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA), Rome, Italy.
Luna Del Bono *Department of Pharmacy, School of Specialization in Hospital Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Diego Alejandro DriClinical Trials Office, Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA), Rome, Italy.
Raffaella MaioneClinical Trials Office, Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA), Rome, Italy.
Sandra PetragliaPre Authorisation Department, Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA), Rome, Italy.
Fabrizio GallicciaClinical Trials Office, Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA), Rome, Italy.
Giovanni GoriClinical Pharmacology Centre for Drug Investigation, Pisa University Hospital, Pisa, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: The global clinical research landscape has expanded significantly over the past decade, yet Europe has witnessed a decline in its share of clinical trial activity, especially in early-phase trials. This study aims to characterize the evolution of Phase I clinical trials in Italy from January 2015 through the completion of the European regulatory transition under Regulation (EU) 536/2014 (30 January 2025), by analyzing trends in trial submissions, sponsor typologies, study designs, and participant populations. Methods: A systematic extraction of data was conducted from the Italian Results: A total of 1,051 Phase I clinical trials were submitted during the study period, accounting for 14.4% of all clinical trial applications in Italy. Commercial sponsors dominated (90.6%), and oncology was the leading therapeutic area (69.6%). The overall regulatory authorization rate was high, with no statistically significant difference between commercial and non-commercial sponsors (89.5% vs. 86.9%, respectively; p > 0.05). Trials exclusively involving healthy volunteers were limited (3.4%). Among the 3,777 IMPs analyzed, chemical compounds prevailed (66.1%), followed by biologics (28.7%) and Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs, 3.3%), the latter showing a steady increase over the decade. Non-commercial sponsor trials more frequently included pediatric and vulnerable populations, thus underlining their distinct contribution to underrepresented areas of clinical research. Conclusion: While Phase I trial activity in Italy remained stable over the past decade, structural imbalances persist-including limited non-commercial engagement, strong therapeutic concentration in oncology, and underuse of healthy volunteer models. Strengthening infrastructure for early development, supporting academic-led studies, and promoting broader inclusion in study populations may help consolidate recent progress and foster a more balanced national research ecosystem.

Indexed as

clinical trialsCTISEudraCTItalyphase Iregulation (EU) 536/2014

Identifiers

PMID40949130
PMCPMC12425750

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.