Facts On a Clinical CRO

The world of medicine is quite complex and incredibly advanced. Therefore, this is now advancing at a rate that could seriously help the common person. As a matter of fact, the development of the clinical CRO or contract research organization is helping move forward towards a better future.

A contract research organization, usually shortened to CRO is basically a compact that helps out pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries. This help comes by way of research services that are outsourced on a contract by contract basis. This helps to develop biopharmaceutical projects, developing the biologic assay, commercialization, clinical research, and even clinical trial management.

The work of a clinical CRO deals with phase 1 drug trials, phase 2 clinical trial, and phase 3 clinical trial drugs as well. Therefore, it is easy to understand that the work of a clinical CRO is going to seriously help out pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies. Big developments will help everyone out in the long run.

Thanks to the pharmaceutical industry, many deadly diseases have been cured. For instance, Hepatitis C once required life-long treatment and potentially a liver transplant. Today, 90-95% of patients can now be cured after receiving an 8 to 12-week drug treatment. It is easy to understand just how valuable the work of a clinical CRO is to the overall development and health of humanity!

As of 2017, the research-based pharmaceutical industry spends $149.8 billion on research and development according to The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations. As of 2014, five of the world’s leading 11 research and development firms were pharmaceutical companies according to The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations.

By 2020 the global pharmaceutical industry will grow to reach a total value of $1.43 trillion according to The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations. As this industry continues to grow, the work of a reliable clinical CRO is going to become even more important. There will be more and more people relying on these drugs to help live a healthy life.

The United States patent term for new drugs is 20 years, and patented drugs are eligible for five years of market exclusivity, which depends on the time between patent approval and U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, approval. According to a 2016 report from the International Trade Association, there are an estimated 100,000 over-the-counter drug products marketed and sold in United States stores.

Of the more than compounds under pharma researchers’ microscopes in 2015, only 56 were launched as new medicines, according to the European Pharmaceutical Review. There are typically four key phases in clinical trials. Phase one tests safety in human use; phase two tests the drug’s effectiveness at treating disease; phase three tests large-scale safety and effectiveness; finally, stage four tests long-term safety.

Phase two clinical trials involve a larger group of people than phase one trials, and these studies can take up to two years. This period of time is really valuable and important because it is going to help determine what drugs are safe for consumption and what are not. Do not worry, all of the participants and patients involved are willing and volunteer themselves!


A 2018 MIT research project examined 185,994 unique clinical trials involving 21,143 compounds, held between 2000 and 2015. MIT researcher Andrew Lo found a higher overall success rate than previous studies, with the overall chances of success at about 10%. If you exclude oncology treatments, the overall probability of success, or POS, of a clinical trial is about 20%, according to a new MIT study. Oncology drugs have a POS of just 3%.

Closing Words On Clinical CRO Work

It is really importnat that the work of a clinical CRO is appreciated and cherished as society continues to grow. This is especially true for anyone that needs help from pharmaceutical drugs!

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