Medical trials play a vital part in creating the medicines of the future. They are a legal requirement before a new drug can be licensed, as well as an opportunity to ensure the medicines available to doctors and the general public are the best on offer.
1 Contributing to the development of new medicines
Testing on Human volunteers is a large part of the process both for condition specific and non-condition specific trials. To get the best picture of how a drug performs in the human body, human volunteers are invited to participate in the process that will see the medicines of tomorrow perfected.
2 Access to new treatments in condition related clinical trials
If you suffer from a particular condition, taking part can give you access to new treatments that could be better than your current ones. You could see a vast improvement in your condition through the course of the drug trial and you could also learn more about the behaviour of your condition during the trial process. Common requests are for volunteers with diabetes, asthma, heart conditions and cancer. If you’re interested, speak to your doctor.
3 Watching science at work
The protocols are specific, as are the restrictions volunteers must adhere to, for example not falling pregnant, or fathering a child for three months after the end of the last trial. This is to ensure all of the trial drug as left the volunteer’s system.
The goal of strict protocols and restrictions is to ensure the efficacy of the data, which means in plain English that the raw data created by these trials gives the drug manufacturers the best possible picture of how the drug performs under certain conditions.
4 Meeting new people
Volunteers are selected according to the status of their health in relation to the parameters of the trial. Social class and education levels don’t play a part; biology is the only factor. And with anything between 24 hours and 14 days together, a medical trial is a good opportunity to meet people you might not otherwise come into contact with.
5 Money
Trials requiring healthy volunteers pay an honorarium in exchange for the time and commitment they give. For companies like GlaxoSmithKline, this can be anything between £50 and £2000 depending on the length of the trial. Volunteers are eligible for up to four trials a year.
Condition specific trials tend to only pay travel expense because of the perceived benefits of accessing new treatments.
About the author: Sally Shaws writes about volunteering for paid clinical trials. You can follow this link for more information on taking part in these trials.
