How to improve clinical trials
Involving more participants can lead to new medical insights
Last year Roche, a Swiss pharmaceutical firm, published a review of the clinical trials on neurological drugs it had held between 2016 and 2021. It found that black people were under-represented in all but one. Surprisingly, that news represents progress, because it shows that trial organisers are becoming more aware of a dangerous bias that sets back the safety and efficacy of medical treatments.
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This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Moving the needle ”
From the January 18th 2025 edition
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