Clinical trials can benefit under-represented populations in developing countries

While conducting more clinical trials in developing countries can help under-represented populations benefit from new medical developments, trials in low-income settings face challenges such as complicated regulations, Trudie Lang of the Centre for Tropical Medicine at the University of Oxford and Sisira Siribaddana of the University of Rajarata and the Institute of Research & Development in Sri Lanka writes in an essay published in PLoS Medicine. According to a PLoS press release, "The authors conclude: 'the globalization of clinical trials should not be about running inexpensive trial sites to benefit distant people, but should focus on bringing research to populations who have previously been under-represented in clinical trials, and enabling these same communities the benefits resulting from new drugs, vaccines, and improvements in managing health'". Read the Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report here.

Study mentioned: Lang T, Siribaddana S (2012) Clinical trials have gone global: is this a good thing? PLoS Med 9(6): e1001228. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001228