An evaluation of pharmaceutical clinical trials from Saudi Arabia registered on Clinicaltrials.gov: A cross-sectional...

To evaluate clinical trials involving pharmaceutical agents conducted in Saudi Arabia and registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. Since the early 2000s, Saudi Arabia has expanded its involvement in clinical research. Recognizing the importance of clinical trials, we aimed to analyze the clinical trial landscape in the Kingdom to identify well-covered areas and potential gaps.

In this descriptive cross-sectional study, ClinicalTrials.gov was used as the primary source to collect data regarding pharmacological and biological interventions conducted in Saudi Arabia between 2002 and June 2025.

A total of 474 pharmaceutical studies were included. Of these, 52.95% were completed, indicating moderate research activity but suggesting room for growth compared to global benchmarks. Among completed trials, 38.64% had their results published on ClinicalTrials.gov. Overall, 223 sponsors were identified: 23.32% were international pharmaceutical companies and 24.22% were Saudi sponsors, of which 77.78% were governmental and 22.22% private. Additionally, 239 studies were funded by international companies. Oncology (23.21%) was the most represented medical field, followed by infectious diseases (12.87%).

Saudi Arabia witnessed an increase in registered clinical trials between 2002 and June 2025, with strong contributions from both international and Saudi sponsors, particularly the governmental sector. However, only one-fifth of completed trials had results published on ClinicalTrials.gov, highlighting the need for greater transparency and dissemination of findings.