Clinical trials, also known as clinical studies, test potential treatments in human volunteers to see whether they should be approved for wider use in the general population. A treatment could be a DRUG, medical device, or biologic, such as a vaccine, blood PRODUCT, or gene therapy.

Potential treatments, however, must first be studied in laboratory animals to determine its safety before they can be tried in people. Treatments having acceptable safety PROFILES and showing the most promise in the animal model are then moved into clinical trials.

Clinical trials are an integral part of new product discovery and development, and are required by all regulatory agencies (e.g. the Food and Drug ADMINISTRATION (FDA) in the United States), before a new product can be BROUGHT to the market.

Clinical trials, also known as clinical studies, test potential treatments in human volunteers to see whether they should be approved for wider use in the general population. A treatment could be a drug, medical device, or biologic, such as a vaccine, blood product, or gene therapy.

Potential treatments, however, must first be studied in laboratory animals to determine its safety before they can be tried in people. Treatments having acceptable safety profiles and showing the most promise in the animal model are then moved into clinical trials.

Clinical trials are an integral part of new product discovery and development, and are required by all regulatory agencies (e.g. the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States), before a new product can be brought to the market.