For Patients: About Clinical Trials

Why Participate in a Clinical Trial

  • Acquire professional medical care from trained physicians at SFCRI
  • Access groundbreaking and innovative treatments not currently available to the public
  • Involved participants receive medications at no cost
  • Receive compensation for time and expenses
  • No medical insurance is required

What is a Clinical Trial?

Clinical trials look at different ways to address a disease. The end goal of the study is to find a new way to prevent or treat illness while maintaining it is safe and effective. Clinical trials involve people of various ages, genders, ethnicities, and genders to see how different factors respond to the proposed treatment or medication.

Why Should I Join a Clinical Study?

Participating in a clinical study can make a difference in the healthcare community. The medicines and devices you help test could help people worldwide affected by specific illnesses or conditions.

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What to Expect

Once you decide to enroll in an SFCRI clinical trial, our friendly and professional staff will take care of you throughout the process at our facility in South Florida.
1

Screening

The first step will be to perform your initial screening to see if you qualify for one of our current clinical studies.
2

Consent

If you qualify for a clinical study, you can give consent to SFCRI to conduct the trial.
3

Evaluation

Our physicians will perform an in-depth evaluation of your health condition.
4

Selection

SFCRI will analyze your health screening and evaluation results to determine if you are a valid candidate for the trial.
5

Participation

If selected, SCRI will provide you with a detailed test and procedure schedule.
6

Follow-Up

Once the clinical study is complete, SFCRI will conduct multiple follow-up visits to reevaluate your health condition.

What Happens After the Trial

After a trial is complete, the data is collected to determine whether or not the drug is effective and safe.

Researchers will decide if they can move on to the trial’s next phase. After Phase III of a study is done, researchers will determine if the results are medically necessary. If so, they can submit the results to a journal for peer review.

Is Research for Me?

Clinical research trials are for everyone!

Clinical studies allow individuals to improve their overall quality of life and the opportunity to help with the discovery of new and improved medications.

To be eligible to participate, you must meet the requirements for that particular trial. After the screening process, you will know whether or not you qualify for the trial.

View Current Trials
What else do I need to consider?

The research center team will be able to explain more about what the ELARIS EM-COC study will involve, and it is up to you to decide if you want to take part. Participation in this study is voluntary. Whether or not you decide to participate in this study will not affect your current or future relationships with your doctors. If you decide to participate, you are free to withdraw at any time without affecting those relationships.

What are the phases of a clinical trial?

A phase 1 study tests an experimental drug to find the maximum dosage that can be given without producing severe side effects. The study focuses on the side effects rather than how the medication affects a participant’s condition.

A phase 2 study involves a larger group of participants, typically in the hundreds. The researchers are interested in learning the side effects and how the drug can help the currently studied condition.

A phase 3 study involves thousands of participants to test the drug’s effectiveness. The study provides participants with the new drug and a common drug to determine whether the new product helps with the tested condition.

What is a clinical research study?

A clinical research study (also called a clinical trial) is a medical research study that helps to answer important questions about an investigational medication – these may include how well an investigational medication works for a certain condition. All medications must be tested in clinical research studies before they can be approved and prescribed to patients.

What is a healthy volunteer?

A healthy volunteer is someone with no known health problems who participates in a clinical trial. Healthy volunteers are used in the early phase of a clinical trial to see how an experimental drug reacts in the body.

What is a placebo and the placebo effect?

A placebo is an inactive substance that looks like the new experimental drug. The placebo effect is a real or perceived improvement in a participant’s condition due to the participant’s or investigator’s wishful thinking. In order to prevent the placebo effect, participants in a clinical trial are randomly assigned the experimental drug and the placebo.