C21 · Pharmaceuticals · 58 measures · 8 regions

New drug approvals

United States had the highest new active substance approvals in 2025, at 50, ahead of Canada (44) and Australia (42).

  • 50 New active substance approvals · United States · 2025
  • 58Measures
  • 6Countries · 2016–2026

Verified 27 Sep 2026 · 8 publishers · 96 records · Next period 2026

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New active substance approvals

The best-covered measure of new drug approvals. Every point opens its record; the values are one click away under the chart.

Fig 1 · C21 · New active substance approvals Annual

New active substance approvals by region

Latest value per region, 2025

6 entries
New active substance approvals by regionNew active substance approvals by region. 6 categories, highest is United States at 50. Switzerland European Union Japan Australia Canada United States 34 39 40 42 44 50
New active substance approvals by regionNew active substance approvals by region. 6 categories, highest is United States at 50. Switzerland European Union Japan Australia Canada United States 34 39 40 42 44 50
New active substance approvals by regionNew active substance approvals by region. 6 categories, highest is United States at 50. Switzerland European Union Japan Australia Canada United States 34 39 40 42 44 50
View the underlying data
New active substance approvals by region
Category Source Type Value
United States CIRS Actual 50
Canada CIRS Actual 44
Australia CIRS Actual 42
Japan CIRS Actual 40
European Union CIRS Actual 39
Switzerland CIRS Actual 34
Source: CIRS · CC BY 4.0 · statorigin.org
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<p><a href="https://statorigin.org/statistics/new-drug-approvals">New active substance approvals by region</a>, data from StatOrigin, CC BY 4.0</p>
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Every measure of new drug approvals

58 measures: the same subject cut by product, segment, basis or form. Each has its own page with every record.

Measure Latest Where and when Records
First-in-class drug approvals 11 China, 2025 9
New active substance approvals 39 European Union, 2025 6
Innovative drug approvals 76 China, 2025 5
Novel drug approvals 46 United States, 2025 3
Pediatric medicine approvals 106 China, 2024 3
Rare disease medicine approvals 55 China, 2024 3
Approved innovative drugs designated as breakthrough therapies 13 China, 2024 2
Common new active substance approvals across major regulatory authorities (multi-year total) 52 Global, 2021–2025 2
Domestic first-in-class drug approvals 4 China, 2025 2
Domestic innovative biological product approvals 21 China, 2025 2
Domestic innovative chemical drug approvals 38 China, 2025 2
Domestic innovative drug approvals (half year) 31 China, January–June 2026 2
Domestic share of approved innovative biological products 91.3% China, 2025 2
Domestic share of approved innovative chemical drugs 80.8% China, 2025 2
Imported innovative biological product approvals 2 China, 2025 2
Imported innovative chemical drug approvals 9 China, 2025 2
Innovative biological product approvals 23 China, 2025 2
Innovative drug approvals (half year) 38 China, January–June 2026 2
Innovative drugs approved via priority review pathway 17 China, 2024 2
Innovative drugs granted conditional market approval 11 China, 2024 2
Innovative traditional medicine approvals 6 China, 2025 2
Antibody-drug conjugate approvals 3 China, 2025 1
Approved Class 1 innovative drugs 76 China, 2025 1
Approved Class 1 innovative drugs (half year) 38 China, January–June 2026 1
Approved innovative drugs growth rate 58.3% China, 2025 1
Approved innovative drugs with new targets or mechanisms 11 China, 2025 1
Approved innovative drugs with new targets or mechanisms (half year) 11 China, January–June 2026 1
Approved novel drugs in breakthrough therapy programs 13 China, 2024 1
Biosimilar biological product approvals 18 United States, 2024 1
Bispecific antibody approvals 4 China, 2025 1
Breast cancer drug approvals 9 China, 2025 1
Cell therapy approvals 3 China, 2025 1
Domestic developer drug approvals 63 China, 2025 1
Domestic developer share of drug approvals 52% China, 2025 1
First global drug approvals 61 China, 2025 1
First-cycle novel drug approvals 37 United States, 2024 1
Fusion protein approvals 3 China, 2025 1
Generic medicines receiving positive opinion (monthly) 3 European Union, July 2026 1
Human medicines recommended for marketing authorization 104 European Union, 2025 1
Human medicines recommended for marketing authorization with new active substance 38 European Union, 2025 1
Human rare disease medicines recommended for marketing authorisation 16 European Union, 2025 1
Imported drug share of approvals 48% China, 2025 1
Innovative biological product approvals (half year) 17 China, January–June 2026 1
Innovative drug approvals (year to date) 14 China, 1 Jan 2026 to 15 Apr 2026 1
Innovative traditional medicine approvals (half year) 1 China, January–June 2026 1
Interchangeable biosimilar approvals 9 United States, 2024 1
New drugs approved for marketing after clinical trials (China registration category) 248 China, 2025 1
Novel antibiotic approvals 3 United States, 2024 1
Novel drug approvals meeting user fee goal dates 47 United States, 2024 1
Novel drug approvals using expedited programs 33 United States, 2024 1
Novel drug approvals via priority review pathway 17 China, 2024 1
Novel drugs approved first in domestic market 34 United States, 2024 1
Novel drugs granted conditional market approval 11 China, 2024 1
Rare disease drug varieties approved 39 China, 2024 1
Share of first-cycle novel drug approvals 74% United States, 2024 1
Share of novel drug approvals meeting user fee goal dates 94% United States, 2024 1
Share of novel drug approvals using expedited programs 66% United States, 2024 1
Share of novel drugs approved first in domestic market 68% United States, 2024 1

New drug approvals by country

Countries ranked on one comparable period:

A page for every country with at least three records:

Frequently asked questions

What does new drug approvals measure?

Total number of therapeutic drugs granted regulatory marketing approval.

What is the latest new active substance approvals?

United States had the highest new active substance approvals in 2025, at 50, ahead of Canada (44) and Australia (42).

Which country has the highest new active substance approvals?

United States, at 50 in 2025, among 5 countries that published that period.

Which countries does this new drug approvals data cover?

6 countries, with a page each for China, United States.

Where does the data come from?

From 18 documents published by DIA, NHSA, State Council and 5 more. Every figure links to its record, which quotes the sentence or table row it was read from.

How often is it updated?

Annual; the newest figure covers 2025, and the next release should cover 2026.

Sources

18 documents from 8 publishers. Each links to the publisher's own copy.

Document Publisher Published Data points
Meeting highlights from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) 20-23 July 2026 EMA — 1
EMA’s 2025 annual report shows strong approval numbers for human and veterinary medicines EMA — 3
2025年我国批准创新药76个 对外授权超千亿美元 MOFCOM — 13
上半年我国创新药对外技术授权交易额创新高 MOFCOM — 2
国新办举行国务院政策例行吹风会介绍健全全周期全渠道药品价格形成机制有关情况 NHSA — 2
我国上半年创新药对外授权交易额超千亿美元 NHSA — 5
创新高!去年我国批准创新药76个 对外授权破千亿美元 NHSA — 12
从“0”到“1”创新能力增强 我国新药研发热度持续攀升 NHSA — 1
Measures facilitate approval of 48 first-in-class innovative drugs NMPA — 8
China approves 48 innovative drugs in 2024 NMPA — 6
Measures facilitate approval of 48 first-in-class innovative drugs State Council — 8
Value of China's innovative drug out-licensing deals hit new high in H1 State Council — 2
全面深化监管改革 缩短临床试验审评审批时限——加快创新药和医疗器械上市_政策解读_中国政府网 State Council — 2
CDER Brings Many Safe and Effective Therapies to Patients and Consumers in 2024 FDA — 12
Novel Drug Approvals for 2025 FDA — 1
Novel Drug Approvals for 2024 FDA — 1
2025 NMPA Approvals: China Clears Record Number of New Drugs DIA — 9
New Drug Approvals by Six Major Authorities 2016-2025 CIRS — 8

Cite this page

Published under CC BY 4.0: free to reuse, including commercially, with attribution to StatOrigin and the original publisher. To cite one figure, open its record.

StatOrigin. (2026). New drug approvals statistics [Data set]. Retrieved September 29, 2026, from https://statorigin.org/statistics/new-drug-approvals

"New drug approvals statistics." StatOrigin, 2026, https://statorigin.org/statistics/new-drug-approvals. Accessed 29 Sep. 2026.

StatOrigin. "New drug approvals statistics." Data set, 2026. Accessed September 29, 2026. https://statorigin.org/statistics/new-drug-approvals.

@misc{statorigin_new_drug_approvals_2026, title = {New drug approvals statistics}, author = {{StatOrigin}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://statorigin.org/statistics/new-drug-approvals}, note = {Data set. Accessed 2026-09-29} }