America should continue to lead the world in clinical research and medical innovation.Instead, we are losing ground.A recent study found that China now conducts more early-stage clinical trials than the United States.In 2025, Chinese companies accounted for nearly half of global pharmaceutical licensing deal activity.
Those trends should concern every American.For nearly 80 years, clinical trials have driven medical progress.They transform scientific discoveries into treatments that save lives.
They establish whether new therapies are safe and effective.They generate the evidence that physicians, patients, and regulators use to make decisions.LIZ PEEK: TRUMP MUST STAY STRONG, US RELIANCE ON CHINESE MINERALS AND DRUGS PUTS AMERICANS AT RISKBut clinical trials do more than generate evidence.They attract investment, scientific talent, and the infrastructure that supports future innovation.When clinical research moves overseas, those advantages often move with it.Early-stage clinical trials matter because they determine where new technologies are tested, refined, and validated.
They influence where companies expand, where expertise develops, and which countries will lead the next generation of medical innovation.The United States cannot afford to surrender this strategic advantage.Clinical research creates high-skilled jobs, gives patients earlier access to innovative therapies, and strengthens a sector that directly affects economic prosperity, public health, and national security.America should not lose clinical research because of barriers that we have the power to remove.Under President Trump's leadership, the Department of Health and Human Services is taking action.Today, FDA, NIH, CMS, ONC, ARPA-H, and the HHS Office of Inspector General launched a coordinated effort to strengthen America's clinical research enterprise and bring more clinical research and investment back to the United States.At FDA, Acting Commissioner Kyle Diamantas and career leadership are c...