Citeline Releases Japanese Version of 'Pharma R&D Annual Review 2026' Analyzing Global Pharmaceutical R&D Trends

Citeline, a provider of global intelligence for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, has released the Japanese version of its latest report, 'Pharma R&D Annual Review 2026', which provides a comprehensive analysis of the global pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) pipeline.

Based on Citeline's core databases, Pharmaprojects and the clinical trials database Trialtrove, this report provides a multifaceted overview of the scale of global pharmaceutical R&D, trends by company and region, and development status by therapeutic area as of early 2026.

Furthermore, the full report allows for a three-dimensional understanding of R&D trends as of 2026 through more data and charts, including global company rankings, detailed analysis by region and therapeutic area, and analysis focusing on Asian countries. For those who wish to gain a deeper understanding of the current state of global pharmaceutical R&D, please download the full report.

Download the full report here

■ Global R&D Pipeline: Total Decreases, Impact of Data Adjustment Becomes Apparent

As of early 2026, the total number of products in the global pharmaceutical R&D pipeline was 22,940, a decrease of 3.92% from the previous year (Figure 1). This is the first decline confirmed since the mid-1990s, but the report explains that this does not indicate a stagnation of overall pharmaceutical R&D, but rather is largely due to the impact of data cleaning and normalization, primarily in the preclinical stage. In the long term, the R&D pipeline has been consistently expanding since the 2000s, and the 2026 decline is positioned as an adjustment phase within that trend.

Figure 1: Trends in the total number of global R&D pipelines (2001–2026)

- The pipeline maintains a long-term expansion trend, and the 2026 decline is positioned as an adjustment phase.

■ Companies Leading R&D: Company Trends in the Top 25 Ranking

By company, Roche regained the top position in pipeline size in the 2026 edition, followed by AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Sanofi, and Novartis. More than half of the top 25 companies maintained or expanded their pipelines from the previous year, indicating that the impact of preclinical data cleaning is concentrated mainly on smaller companies. Additionally, the top 25 includes multiple companies from China and Japan, confirming the continued presence of Asian companies in global R&D.

■ Regional Distribution of R&D Hubs: US Largest, China Expands Presence

By headquarters location of R&D companies, the US holds the largest share at 41%, an increase from the previous year. Meanwhile, China rose to 19% from the previous year, maintaining its position as a major R&D hub (Figure 2). The report notes that the increase in shares across many countries and regions indicates the progress of internationalization in pharmaceutical R&D.

Figure 2: Headquarters location distribution of R&D companies (2025 vs. 2026 comparison)

■ Clinical Trial Trends: Oncology Most Numerous, Some Areas Decline

Based on clinical trial data, the therapeutic area with the highest number of ongoing clinical trials as of early 2026 is oncology, with 20,383 trials confirmed (Figure 3). This number has increased from the previous year, indicating it remains the largest research field. Conversely, the number of trials in areas such as infectious diseases, vaccines, and urogenital systems has decreased compared to the previous year. The report suggests this may be due to the waning of the increase in COVID-19-related research over the past few years.

Figure 3: Number of ongoing clinical trials by therapeutic area (2026)

- The high number of oncology trials and the varying density across therapeutic areas are shown.

■ A Report Providing an Overview of Global Pharmaceutical R&D

'Pharma R&D Annual Review 2026' combines data from Pharmaprojects, which has consistently tracked pharmaceutical R&D since 1980, with clinical trial data to organize the R&D landscape as of 2026 from multiple perspectives including company, therapeutic area, and region. It is positioned as a foundational resource for companies and stakeholders involved in pharmaceutical R&D to understand their current position.

Download the full report here

Turn the development and trial overview seen in the report into your next action.

For areas or competitors of interest in the report, it is also possible to delve deeper into individual development status, clinical trials, and partnership information using databases such as Pharmaprojects. Please feel free to contact us.

View details

Citeline is a global intelligence brand providing data and analysis on R&D, clinical trials, regulation, and commercialization for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. It specializes in developing R&D strategies based on global development overviews and competitive pipelines, as well as cross-functional support from trial design using US pipelines, trials, investigators, and real-world data to patient recruitment.

PR Contact

https://www.citeline.com/ja-jp/contact-us

Evaluate Japan K.K.

APAC Marketing Department

The content of this press release may be freely reproduced and published.

We would appreciate it if you could clearly indicate the source and provide links where possible.

*Please feel free to contact us for interview requests.