Revenue from trials by international companies in Israeli hospitals fell to NIS 518 million in 2023 from NIS 818 million in 2022. Clinical trials carried out by international companies in Israel declined sharply in 2023, according to a report by the Ministry of Health. In recent years, such trials have contributed a large part of the revenue of Israeli hospitals.
They are also important in giving patients access to the most up-to-date technologies, and for maintaining the international status of Israeli doctors and training them in the use of the newest products. In 2022, Israeli hospitals derived NIS 818 million revenue from clinical trials, but in 2023 the figure was only NIS 518 million. Besides the war that broke out at the beginning of the fourth quarter of last year, and the effect of the judicial reform program, the decline was because of a global decline in biomedical research that year.
The revenue from clinical trials in 2023 was the lowest since 2014, but the negative trend began in 2022, when revenue was down 15% in comparison with 2021, a record year for clinical trials. The period 2020-2021 saw peak activity in global biomedical research, and was especially successful for clinical trials in Israel thanks to collaborative efforts on the Covid-19 virus. The positioning of Israel’s health system as a good source of data in view of its response to the pandemic helped to attract clinical trials in other fields as well.
But, as mentioned, the charm began to wear off.