clinical trial

clinical trial, formal testing of a specific treatment or other health-related intervention to determine its role in the standard care of individuals with a corresponding medical condition.

Ideally, before new drugs and other treatments, diagnostic tests, or preventive measures are accepted for general use, they should be studied in clinical trials to determine whether they have advantages over existing methods in health benefits, safety, or cost. At times, approaches already in common use are compared in a clinical trial to determine if one is superior.

To conduct a clinical trial, researchers must first develop a study plan, or protocol, in which they describe the study’s aims, the characteristics of the participants, the scientific approach, the outcome measures, and the plan for statistical evaluation of the data. These protocol components are each designed with the goal of providing a reliable answer to the questions being asked in the trial.

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Types of clinical trials

Trials may be separated into two main types: interventional or observational. Interventional trials assign participants to a procedure or treatment and then measure the effects of that intervention. Observational trials collect a group of participants with a specific condition who receive a procedure or treatment as part of routine care and then measure the outcome results in this group. In both types of trials, the outcome in the participants undergoing the procedure or treatment is often compared with another group called the control. Individuals in the control group serve as comparators, allowing investigators to determine if the new approach is better than the standard one given to the controls.

Participants in clinical trials

Researchers carefully define the characteristics of the participants (e.g., age and gender) and the condition (e.g., disease type, stage, and prior treatment) being studied. These factors are referred to as eligibility criteria. Careful selection of participants ensures that answers to the trial question will be applied appropriately outside a clinical trial and also helps to exclude participants for whom the approach may be unduly dangerous.

Individuals participate in clinical trials for different reasons. In many instances, participants have a particular disease or medical condition, and a clinical trial offers a chance to access a new alternative to the available standard treatment. Many people participate because they want to contribute to the improvement of methods used to treat disease. Occasionally, healthy volunteers participate in trials and may be paid for their time and effort. Whatever the motivation, international agreements initially promulgated in the Nuremberg Code in 1947 and later in the Declaration of Helsinki in 1964 require all participants to freely provide their consent, preferably in writing, before entering a clinical trial. Subsequent refinements have resulted in the development of an informed-consent process whereby a written description of the study aims, the requirements imposed by participation, the side effects of the intervention, and the participant’s rights is provided, along with ample time for discussion and for questions from potential participants.

Clinical trials design

Given the variety of conditions studied, a comprehensive review of trial designs is beyond the scope of this article. Instead, a description of the process by which new drugs are tested in clinical trials is provided to illustrate some general principles of trial design. Before new drugs come to market in the United States, they must be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Studies of new drugs progress according to a well-defined sequence of clinical trials that is closely regulated by the FDA. The separate trials are described as phases, and they proceed in the following order: Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3. In some instances, this sequence may be preceded by Phase 0 or followed by Phase 4.

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A Phase 1 study is the first trial of the drug in humans. A safe dose, determined from testing in animals, is used as the starting dose. If tolerated, the dose is increased slowly in small groups of participants until side effects are noted. The trial is terminated when either the highest dose that can be given to humans with acceptable side effects has been reached or, in the absence of side effects, an effective dose has been achieved.

Phase 2 studies generally consist of about 50–150 subjects and therefore are usually larger than Phase 1 studies. Phase 2 trials focus on testing the drug in a well-defined medical condition. The primary goal of the study is to determine the effectiveness of the intervention for the condition in relation to the side effects experienced by the participants.

If the drug shows promise in a Phase 2 trial, the next step is to directly compare the new intervention with the standard treatment approach, if one exists, for the disease. Phase 3 studies usually employ a randomized design, meaning that participants are assigned by chance to either the new intervention or the standard treatment. This random assignment is performed to avoid bias, which is defined as an imbalance in key factors—such as age, gender, or severity of the condition—among participants. A biased clinical trial can lead to incorrect conclusions. In the example of a new drug, it may be that participants with certain characteristics have a more favourable outcome irrespective of drug treatment. If there is an imbalance in these features favouring the new drug, then it may appear that the drug is beneficial compared with the control group when, in fact, the improved outcome is due to the imbalance among participants. When no standard approach exists, the participants may be randomized between the new drug and a placebo (an inactive substance given in place of the active drug). Trials in which neither the researcher nor the participant knows whether the patient has been assigned to the new drug or to the placebo are called double-blind, placebo-controlled trials.

Very early in the discovery of new drugs, Phase 0 studies (exploratory trials) are sometimes performed before proceeding to a Phase 1 study. These limited trials attempt to measure in humans a specific biological effect of the agent, similar to what was observed in preclinical studies performed in animals. Phase 0 studies can guide researchers in understanding how best to administer the agent in subsequent studies. On the other end of the spectrum, companies are often required to do Phase 4 studies once a drug is on the market. Phase 4 studies focus on collecting safety data in large numbers of patients to look for rare but serious side effects.

The clinical trials process described above for FDA approval of new drugs has its counterpart in many other countries worldwide. In Europe, for example, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) conducts a similar review of clinical trials data before deciding whether an agent should receive approval in the European Union. In addition, the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) brings together the regulatory authorities of Europe, Japan, and the United States and experts from the pharmaceutical industry in the three regions to discuss scientific and technical aspects of product registration. By working together to harmonize procedures and requirements during the drug-approval process, needless duplication of efforts during the clinical trials process can be avoided in hopes of speeding the development of new treatments.

Trial monitoring and ethics approval

Before researchers can begin to enroll participants in a trial, the protocol must be reviewed by an independent panel composed of medical experts and laypersons. These individuals determine whether the trial’s risks are acceptable with regard to the participants’ medical condition. Ethics boards are also responsible for reviewing the consent form to make sure that the study plan and risks are adequately explained to all participants. Throughout the conduct of clinical trials, side effects are closely monitored, and changes in the study design are introduced through protocol amendments as necessary. In addition, Phase 3 trials are required to have an independent data-safety-monitoring committee that reviews study outcomes and side effects during the course of the trial to assure participants that the study remains appropriate for their medical condition.

Trial sponsors

Clinical trials are supported in many countries by both public and private funds. The National Institutes of Health, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, funds the largest number of clinical trials worldwide. Many other government agencies support clinical trials as well. In the first decade of the 21st century, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies represented the fastest-growing group of sponsors of clinical trials. Many charitable organizations also have contributed support for trials.

To assist individuals in finding an appropriate clinical trial, many government and private sponsors have registries that catalog the trials and the criteria required for participation. New interventions tested in Phase 2 and 3 studies in the United States are required by law to be registered.