It seems we hear each week of some new menace to our long-term health, whether it’s an emerging new condition or something that has been around for a while taking on new importance. Clinical research is one key to helping deal with these threats by developing effective treatments and bringing them to market. But what percentage of our research resources are being efficiently spent?
“Waste and inefficiency in drug development are big problems,” points out the author of a recent statnews.com article. The piece, titled “A bird’s-eye view of clinical trials provides new perspectives on drug research and development,” uses engaging, interactive visuals to illustrate numbers of clinical trials and their focus, and gives an idea research priorities, based on the resources allocated. It also discusses the ethical and practical considerations of resource allocation. While this article focus on industry sponsored research, the author notes similar methods could be applied to “large national research funders or academic research institutions.”