European drugmakers are pressing the European Union and its member states to increase medicine spending, speed clinical trials and strengthen intellectual-property protections as the region’s pharmaceutical sector loses ground to the United States and China. The chairs of nine companies, including AstraZeneca, GSK, Novo, Novartis, Roche and Sanofi, said about 40% of new therapies never reach European patients. Europe’s share of global pharmaceutical research and development fell to 31% from 43% in 1990, while its share of commercial clinical trials halved to 9% over the past decade. The companies also said Europe spends about 1% of gross domestic product on pharmaceuticals, compared with 2% in the United States and 1.8% in China. Healthcare lawyer Ron Lanton said Europe retains extraordinary scientific capabilities, but companies increasingly consider the full path from trials through reimbursement and patient access when allocating capital.