Positive Press for the Clinical Research Profession

Advances in medicine and science come from new ideas and approaches developed through research. New medical treatments must prove to be safe and effective in different levels of clinical trials with a certain number of healthy volunteers and subjects before they can be made available to the general public.  Through past clinical trials, a number of treatments that are now standard would never have made it to the market without these trials.

As a member of ACRP, you already know all of this. It is because of the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ that you accept, live up to and even enjoy the many challenges and (regulatory) demands related to the conduct of clinical trials. The efforts you make every day eventually result in new or improved drugs, devices, and biologics that impact thousands of people’s lives in a positive way, which is extremely rewarding.

However, in today’s world of 24-hour news cycles and a culture desperate to create villains for us to point fingers at and heroes for us to worship, all too often the world of clinical research comes under severe scrutiny by those who question the delicate balance that is the field of medicine. While the clinical research enterprise has had more than their fair share of negative press, a recent article in the Washington Post, shows what clinical research is really about.

This ‘positive light’ is due to the impeccable ethics, hard work, and high standards that clinical research professionals like you demonstrate every day.  Today’s medical breakthroughs are due to yesterday’s research.  The public at large has begun to see that the main benefit of clinical trials is that they are used to test the safety and effectiveness of devices and pharmaceuticals in a human population. It is becoming public knowledge that the ongoing collaboration between physician investigators, the clinical research team, and study volunteers is one of the foundations of modern healthcare, because clinical trials help set the standards for patient care.

While the clinical trial process is not risk-free and offers no guarantees, clinical research professionals have a strong belief that the study treatment will provide benefits equal to or better than the current standard therapies.

It is a testament to your dedication and commitment to the field that the press and the public are beginning to realize that clinical research is critical to understanding diseases and improving treatment therapies.

ACRP is proud to support our members in our collaborative mission "… to promote integrity and excellence for the clinical research profession." I hope this is just the beginning of what’s to come.

JIM THOMASELL is the Executive Director of the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) and its affiliates, the Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians and Investigators (APPI) and the Academy of Clinical Research Professionals (The Academy).