Australia, known as having some of the best scientists and research infrastructure in the world, has unfortunately lagged behind, or so it seems. Latest data released by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) showed the number of clinical trials that Australia undertakes has fallen for the fourth consecutive time in five years.

Dr Brendan Shaw, Chief Executive of Medicines Australia, said the continuous decline ought to be a wake-up call for the federal government to fulfil its promise to implement major reforms to make Australian R&D more internationally competitive.

According to the latest Half-Yearly Performance Report of the TGA, only 602 new clinical trials were started in Australia in 2012, a 5 per cent drop from the year ago level of 635 trials.

From 2007, the number of clinical trials have plummeted 30 per cent a high of 865.

The reforms the federal government said it would do "should have been implemented years ago," Dr Shaw said in a statement.

"Australia is recognised globally as having some of the best scientists and research infrastructure in the world and that is an important strategic advantage. But we are facing fierce international competition for clinical trial investment."

"While we welcome the Government's recent re-commitments to the required regulatory reforms, these figures and last week's McKeon report on health and medical research sheet home the importance of cementing these reforms into place as soon as possible."

In 2011, the Australian Government committed to implement all the recommendations from the Clinical Trials Action Group. The government established the group to discuss and come up with plan of actions to arrest the decline in clinical trials activity.

"Yet, more than two years after the report's release, the major recommendations have not yet been implemented. In the meantime, we have been losing trials to other countries," Dr Shaw said.

"We are bleeding clinical trial investment to other countries at the moment," he said, putting at risk the country's $1 billion clinical research industry.