Clinical research is the scientific process by which new therapies and diagnostic procedures are developed. It also gives us valuable insights into how diseases are formed and spread. Clinical Trials are a type of clinical research that follow a pre-determined protocol and are developed to evaluate a clinical question. They are a way for researchers to find out if a new drug is safe and effective.
Because clinical trials require careful planning—the more meticulous a trial is, the better the results are—trial supplies companies like Client Pharma, need to be adept at providing the kind of exacting care necessary to perform good clinical trials.
Let’s take a look at five of the most common types of clinical trials:
Table of contents:
- Treatment trials
- Prevention trials
- Diagnostic trials
- Screening trials
- Quality of life trials
Treatment trials
Treatment trials, also called interventional trials, are clinical trials that test treatments in their pre-approval stage. Treatment trials are generally carried out in two sets of phases—the early phases determine whether or not new treatments are safe and whether they have any side effects; the later Phases are aimed at finding out whether the new Treatment is more effective than the existing remedy.
Prevention trials
As the name suggests, Prevention trials are aimed at testing if a particular medical condition can be prevented in individuals. If people already have the condition, then prevention trials test ways to stop them from reoccurring. Unlike treatment trials which often require test subjects with pre-existing conditions, Volunteers for Prevention trials are usually healthy individuals of all ages and backgrounds.
In a prevention trial, volunteers are divided into different groups with each group having to follow a meticulously planned routine. They have to either take something (like medicine or vitamin) or do something (dieting, exercising). Trial supply companies like Client Pharma help make sure that these groups get their supplies on time and in accordance with trial guidelines.
Diagnostic trials
Diagnostic trials aim to find efficient ways to detect and diagnose medical conditions. Diagnostic trials usually involve people who display symptoms of the medical condition being studies as well as those with no pre-existing conditions to establish positive and negative screening tests.
Screening trials
Screening trials are similar to diagnostic trials with a few key differences. Unlike diagnostic trials, which are carried out to check for the presence or absence of a medical condition for treatment purposes, screening trials check early disease or risk factors for disease using a large number of healthy individuals.
Quality of life trials
Quality of life is a broad category that encompasses your general health, personal life, time spent working, exercising, resting, with family and friends, in leisure activities, and so on. Quality of life trials are devised to find ways to improve the quality of life of patients suffering from long-lasting or chronic illnesses (eg. heart diseases, diabetes, HIV).
Conclusion
Clinical trials are an important and necessary process in the life cycle of drug and treatment development. They ensure that the process behind the drug or treatment’s creation and distribution is safe, effective, humane, and following the laws of the land.
