Different Stages of Clinical Trials

Pharmaceutical companies conduct clinical trials and pharmaceutical quality assurance tests to determine whether the vaccines or medicines produced by the company are safe enough for use by people. The results of the tests are documented for future reference. Clinical trials are thus an important step in the entire process of pharmaceutical or drug development. These are conducted by people in clinical trials jobs.

The process of clinical trials is an elaborate one. It is necessary that a drug receives the sanction of the quality testing team after it has been put to test to determine whether it is safe for use by the masses. The medicines are put through rigorous testing procedures to evaluate their effectiveness. Each of the processes that form a part of clinical trials comprises a set of research questions. A predefined and strict protocol is followed in order to ensure that the results are safe and accurate. Each of the phases in the process is integral to the development of the drug.

In the first phase of drug testing, researchers initiate experiments on a drug over a small group of people in order to test whether the same is safe for consumption, its side effects if any, the appropriate dosage and determination of what happens to the compound once it enters the body.

The second phase of drug testing is carried out on a comparatively larger group comprising 100-300 people to gather preliminary evidence about the possible effects of a drug.

In the third phase of the clinical trials, the drug is tested over 1000-3000 people. The findings may be compared to a treatment standard that has been established earlier.

In the final phase of the drug testing procedure, the drug or the treatment needs to receive approval from the regulatory agencies or people who work in pharmaceutical quality assurance jobs.