WHAT IS A CLINICAL TRIAL
AT ARIZONA RESEARCH CENTER, WE PROVIDE YOU WITH ALL THE INFORMATION YOU NEED AND ARE HERE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.
Navigating the decision to participate in a Clinical Research Trial can be filled with uncertainties.
What is a Clinical Trial?
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Clinical research involves testing an investigational drug or device in humans. Each clinical trial must use a protocol that has been written according to government regulations and that is also approved by the company sponsoring the study. An investigational drug may be:
a drug that has not yet been approved for marketing (i.e., a drug that is not allowed to be sold) a drug that is currently on the market but that is being studied for a non-approved indication or is being studied in a new route of administration, strength, or formulation; a drug that is being sold on the market by one company but that is being considered for in-license or acquisition by another company; a drug that contains known and established ingredients but has not yet been marketed by the company; a drug that is currently on the market but is being studied in a population for which the drug has not yet been approved, such as in children or in elderly patients.
Before an investigational drug or device can be studied in humans, its safety and effectiveness is carefully studied in the laboratory. However, this early research cannot predict how safe and effective the drug will be in humans. With any new treatment there may be benefits as well as known and unknown risks. Clinical research trials are conducted to determine whether promising new treatments will be safe and effective for patients.
Preparing for your visit:
Here a few tips when preparing for your first clinical research visit.
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An Informed Consent will be presented to you at the beginning. So if you require reading glasses please bring them along.
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Plan ahead and write down possible questions to ask.
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Ask a friend or family member to come along for support and to hear the responses to the questions.
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Bring in a list of your current medications that show what they were prescribed for and what dose amount you take.
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If you’ve kept a diary of your symptoms for your primary care physician, it may help to bring that along to describe pain/allergies/etc. to our coordinators.
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First visits can range from 1-4 hours (depending on the trial) so be sure to eat before you come in.