More than 30 million Americans are afflicted with the serious, chronic disease known as diabetes. Complications of diabetes include heart attacks, blindness/vision impairment and amputation of lower limbs (such as legs and feet).
This condition, in a very basic explanation, is a result of the blood having too much glucose and the pancreas not producing enough insulin to convert the sugar to energy or not using the insulin properly. There are two types of diabetes, named type 1 and type 2.
Fortunately, patients suffering from diabetes have research results provided by diabetes clinical trials. Doctors may refer to the results of diabetes clinical trials in determining the course of treatment for their patients who suffer from diabetes.
A clinical trial is a very positive way to try new medicines, and to obtain result for patients. According to a new MIT study, the POS (probability of success) for a clinical trial–omitting oncology–is approximately 20.9%. For oncology drugs, the POS is only 3.4%, a much lower number…meaning less chance of success.
There are risk-benefit factors for patients involved in participating in diabetes clinical trials. The benefits include being able to get treatment at no cost, before it becomes accessible to the public. Risks may include having to travel to the site of the trial, experiencing unpleasant side effects or a treatment that doesn’t work.
Clinical trials usually consist of four phases. Phase 1 clinical trials involves testing the drug for safety of use by humans, also known as phase 1 drug trials.
The phase 2 clinical trial is the stage which examines and tests the effectiveness of the drug in treating the disease being researched. Effectiveness and large scale safety are the objectives of a phase 3 clinical trial, and long-term safety is tested in stage 4.
While the aim of clinical trials and diabetes clinical trials is most certainly patient-focused, there is also a lot of money at stake. According to The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations, the global pharmaceutical industry will reach a total value of $1.43 trillion by the year 2020.
As you can see from this brief overview, the benefits of clinical trials are many. And there are many kinds of trials: Alzheimer’s research studies, epilepsy studies, paid depression studies and even a psg sleep study, to name a few.
But within this context, the most important and ultimate goal is the treatment of the individual, providing hope for the future and the eradication of the disease which afflicts them.