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Article: Clinical Trials
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- Biology
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Clinical Trials
A clinical trial is a prospective study of the effectiveness of a new treatment, such as a drug, surgical technique, or medical device. The term prospective indicates that there is a well-defined starting point from which the subjects are tracked for some definite period of time. Before a clinical trial is conducted, laboratory experimentation and animal trials on the proposed treatment is performed.
Clinical trials must meet strict government guidelines established by the
U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to assure the safety of subjects and the scientific validity of the trial. Prior to admission to a clinical trial, subjects must meet the study requirements and ...