• Zoltán Kaló, János Antal, Miklós Pénzes, Csilla Pozsgay, Zsuzsanna Szepezdi, and László Nagyjánosi.
• Zoltán Kaló, Department of Health Policy and Health Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/a, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary, kalo@tatk.elte.hu.
• Croat. Med. J. 2014 Oct 1;55(5):446-51.

AimTo determine the contribution of clinical trials to the gross domestic product (GDP) in Hungary.MethodsAn anonymous survey of pharmaceutical companies and clinical research organizations (CROs) was conducted to estimate their clinical trial-related employment and revenues. Clinical trial documents at the National Institute of Pharmacy (NIP) were analyzed to estimate trial-related revenues at health care institutions and the value of investigational medical products (IMPs) based on avoided drug costs. Financial benefits were calculated as 2010 US $ purchasing power parity (PPP) values.ResultsClinical trials increased the revenue of Hungarian health care providers by 1 US $65.6 million. The value of IMPs was US $67.0 million. Clinical trial operation and management activities generated 900 jobs and US $166.9 million in revenue among CROs and pharmaceutical companies.ConclusionsThe contribution of clinical trials to the Hungarian GDP in 2010 amounted to 0.2%. Participation in international clinical trials may result in health, financial, and intangible benefits that contribute to the sustainability of health care systems, especially in countries with severe resource constraints. Although a conservative approach was employed to estimate the economic benefits of clinical trials, further research is necessary to improve the generalizability of our findings.

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