A multicenter research trial is a

clinical trial Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human subject research, human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel v ...

conducted at more than one medical center or clinic. Most large clinical trials, particularly

Phase III trials The phases of clinical research are the stages in which scientists conduct experiments with a health intervention to obtain sufficient evidence for a process considered effective as a medical treatment. For drug development, the clinical phases ...

, are conducted at several

clinical research Clinical research is a branch of healthcare science that determines the safety and effectiveness ( efficacy) of medications, devices, diagnostic products and treatment regimens intended for human use. These may be used for prevention, treat ...

centers.

Benefits

The benefits of multicenter trials include a larger number of participants, different geographic locations, the possibility of inclusion of a wider range of population groups, and the ability to compare results among centers, all of which increase the generalizability of the study. In many cases, efficacy will vary significantly between population groups with different genetic, environmental, and ethnic or cultural backgrounds ("demographic" factors); normally only geographically dispersed trials can properly evaluate this.

External links

ClinicalTrials.gov
from US

National Library of Medicine The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), operated by the United States federal government, is the world's largest medical library. Located in Bethesda, Maryland, the NLM is an institute within the National Institutes of Health. It ...

Role of ICH GCP and Recruitment Strategies Training of Clinical Sites Staff in Successful Patient Recruitment Rates By Marithea Goberville, Ph.D.IBPA Publications 2005
{{DEFAULTSORT:Multicenter Trial Clinical research Pharmaceutical industry Clinical trials