Italy ranks fourth in the European Union for the number of clinical trials conducted since the beginning of 2022. They total 2,674, with Spain taking first place at the continental level (with 3,500), followed by France (3,362) and Germany (2,831). The data is quite encouraging, despite the fact that Italy is a nation that invests only 2.860 billion in biomedical research annually, compared to the 22 billion invested in general research and development (only 1.3% of GDP). This places Italy 18th in Europe and among the lowest globally. The public funding accounts for only 39% of the total of these resources, while pharmaceutical companies contribute 1.3 billion, primarily for clinical trials. This is the image of both strengths and weaknesses that was presented today at a conference in Rome organized by FOCE (ConFederazione Oncologi, Cardiologi ed Ematologi).