Saturday, February 18, 2012

Clinical Research

Clinical Trials:
In medical research, clinical trials are conducted to allow safety and efficacy data to be collected for new drugs or devices. These trials can only take place once satisfactory information has been gathered on the quality of the product and its non-clinical safety, and Health Authority/Ethics Committee approval is granted in the country where the trial is taking place.
Depending on the type of product and the stage of its development, investigators enroll healthy volunteers and/or patients into small pilot studies initially, followed by larger scale studies in patients that often compare the new product with the currently prescribed treatment. As positive safety and efficacy data are gathered, the number of patients is typically increased. Clinical trials can vary in size from a single center in one country to multicenter trials in multiple countries.
Due to the sizable cost a full series of clinical trials may incur, the burden of paying for all the necessary people and services is usually borne by the sponsor who may be the pharmaceutical or biotechnology company that developed the agent under study. Since the diversity of roles may exceed resources of the sponsor, often a clinical trial is managed by an outsourced partner such as a contract research organization (CRO).

2 comments:

  1. Last month I took part in one of the clinical trials conducted by Quintiles. I was told that I will be getting 1000 GBP after two days screening and one week stay in hospital. They arranged us in groups and study schedule was given to each group.
    On the very date , after spending half day at hospital, we were told that study has been cancelled , go home. And they offered me 25 pounds.

    I took work holidays from my company, cancelled my dentist appointment, got my self organized and when I reached to the hospital, I was told that I will be getting 25 pounds for all this hassle. This 25 pounds does not cover my travelling cost of three visits to Quintile, never mind the time I spent. We were also advised by Quintile not to travel abroad during study. I had to postponed my visit to abroad to see my family.
    We were also advised to do fasting during 1st day. After fasting till 12 in the afternoon, we were asked to go home. I have checked all the documents provided by quintiles, they never say that they can cancel study at any time without paying individuals.

    I find it very unfair and unjust.
    Kamran nawaz

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  2. This is a great explanation about clinical trials. If you want to look for studies, you may download app in ios and android, just search for Study Scavenger. Stipend, location and health conditions are listed.

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