Clinical trials are used to help test the effectiveness of many medications. Considering that, you’ll commonly find that pharmaceutical companies often utilize these trials as clinical research. Statistics gathered from the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations found that the pharmaceutical industry will reach a global value of $1.43 trillion. In order for these trials to begin, companies must be able to have research participants. With that in mind, here is more information regarding what to expect from the first phase of a clinical trial.

Amount of Average Phase 1 Participants

Phase 1 clinical trials are known for only containing a small number of people. In most cases, you can expect there to be anywhere from 20 to 100 other clinical trial phase 1 participants. Therefore, it might seem harder to obtain entry in these phases of clinical trials. After this is complete, phase 2 clinical trials begin. You’ll typically find that a larger amount of people are involved in phase 2 trials.

Dosing Expectations

Research obtained from the European Pharmaceutical Review found that, in 2015, only 56 of all compounds were able to be launched as new medications. In order for these medications to pass tests, it will need to have successful clinical trial phase 1 results. It’s understandable to want to know what happens in regards to taking trial medication. What usually happens is that researchers will need to know about dosing requirements. In turn, this phase involves trial participants taking a certain dosage of the medication in question. Over time, this dosage might be increased. If adverse side effects are reported, it’s likely that the dosage will be drastically reduced.

Testing for Possible Interactions

Throughout the first phase of a clinical trial, researchers might want to check how a medication interacts with food or other types of drugs. With that in mind, drug interaction tests are often conducted during phase 1 of a clinical trial. Many researchers also want to know how food interacts with medications. Statistics from 2017 found that research based pharmaceutical industries spend nearly $150 million for research and development purposes. Much of this research is focused on how medication interacts with drugs or other types of food. Having information from these trials enables companies to find out more about whether or not food should be taken with medications. In addition, pharmaceutical companies will also have a clearer idea of the window at which food should be administered.

In closing, it makes sense to wonder about what takes place during the first phase of a clinical trial. The clinical trial phase 1 portion often involves a smaller number of participants. The participants in a clinical trial are often administered increasing amounts of a certain test medication. In turn, this enables researchers and pharmaceutical companies to have more information about proper dosage requirements. It is estimated that nearly 70% of medications that pass the first phase of a clinical trial are able to continue to phase 2.