Data showing a 60% decrease in new clinical trials for cancer drugs and biological therapies during the pandemic further highlights the impact that COVID-19 is having on oncology research, leading organisations have warned.

A comparison of trials launched between January and May, 2020, using information from the Medidata Enterprise Data Store found a dramatic decline compared with the previous 5 years.

During the 40-month observation period, 1440 phase 1–4 oncology trials were launched in 91 countries, the US researchers reported in their study in JAMA Network Open. Of these trials, 1249 were started in the years before the pandemic, but just 191 since COVID-19 hit. Further calculations based on a month-by-month analysis showed an incidence rate ratio of 0·40 (95% CI 0·28–0·55) compared with the pre-pandemic period.

You can read the full report here:
https://www.thelancet.com/…/PIIS1470-2045(21…/fulltext