Clinical Trials

Clinical research with human participants utilizes a systematic approach to help understand human health and illness in order to find safe and effective ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease.Most clinical research in the United States is sponsored by pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies, which spent more than $10 billion on it in 2002; the U.S. National Institutes of Health is the second largest sponsor. Clinical research has a long history and has resulted in significant benefits for society, yet it continues to pose profound ethical questions.Clinical research involves clinical trials, which are designed to test the safety and efficacy of interventions in humans. Carefully conducted clinical trials of treatments, prevention modalities,medical devices, and other interventions are considered the fastest, safest, and best way to determine whether they work for cancer, HIV/AIDS, asthma, and many other diseases. Treatment trials test experimental treatments, new combinations of drugs,or new approaches to surgery or radiation therapy. Prevention trials test medicines, vaccines, vitamins, or lifestyle changes to see if they can prevent disease or disease recurrence. There are ethical concerns about clinical trials because some individuals are asked to accept a burden or risk in order for researchers to develop knowledge that will benefit others.