The Industrial Push

Clinical drug trials in todays times are majorly funded by the Pharmaceutical Industry thus increasing the dilemma and doubts in the minds of consumers regarding the commercialization of research. Due to the unprecedented control of the Pharmaceutical industry influencing the research to promote a drug is commonly observed. A conflict of interest is considered to exist when an author or authors company has a financial or personal relationship with organizations thus influencing their actions. Thus the impartiality of a research in todays time is threatened hence now its become imperative for investigators to disclose any form of financial conflict. However a large number of studies have reported an increase in disclosure of funding sources in research published thus promoting transparency. Manuscript guidelines hence have been revised to ensure the authors not only have an independent role in research but also are accountable for published result. At the same time these disclosure of conflict of interest have been known to be inconsistent and prone to deception. It is imperative not only for the investigators to know the best practices of disclosure but also for the medical writers, statisticians and other research staff.

The Industrial Good

Sponsored clinical trials do not always imply negative aspect as these trials usually are more robust, comply with regulatory guidelines and are well designed with experienced researchers involved in the entire process. These studies may also be larger with greater statistical power to identify significant differences. As less funded studies usually conduct smaller pilot studies less likely to report these differences. Thus, we still need in depth critical reviews to understand the ways which industry sponsored trials work by influencing study design, reporting and at the same time all data consistently disclosed irrespective of the outcome.

Online Courses in Clinical Trials

James Lind Institute (JLI) creates opportunity through training for clinicians, nurses, allied health professionals, pharmacists and life science graduates for a sound purposeful job not only in clinical research operations but also in allied clinical research fields like medical writing, pharmacovigilance, clinical data management, quality assurance and regulatory affairs. The courses offered are Advanced Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Research and Medical writing, Advanced Post Graduate Diploma in Pharmacovigilance and Medical writing, Professional Diploma in Medical Writing, Advanced Post Graduate Diploma in Public Health Research, Advanced PG Diploma in Scientific Writing and Medical Journalism. JLI aids in boosting skills and knowledge with industry experts and mentors.
For more information please visit www.jliedu.com