23 Jun Everything you need to know about clinical trials

Until relatively recently, most people were unaware of the importance of clinical trials. However, that changed with the pandemic. Covid-19 showed us that clinical trials are vital if we are to discover new medicines and new cures for diseases. In this article, we tell you everything you need to know about clinical trials and why it is important to share the results in many different languages.

What is a clinical trial?

A clinical trial is a scientific investigation. The aim of a clinical trial, as we at our medical translation agency are well aware, is to learn more about how a medicine, vaccine or therapeutic procedure works. Through clinical trials, the efficacy of a treatment can be tested before it is put on sale.

The clinical trial is the pre-marketing part of a medicine or medical treatment. The efficacy of a medicine or medical treatment is tested at this stage and the trial is carried out on humans to determine whether or not there are side effects from the treatment.

Every medicine first goes through a pre-clinical phase. This means that studies are carried out in the laboratory and, before being tested on humans, they are tested on animals. In this way, appropriate administration patterns and recommended doses can be determined. Thus, when tested on humans, administration is completely safe.

Types of clinical trial

1- Diagnostic

Diagnostic clinical trials are those carried out to diagnose new diseases.

2- Treatment trials

These are clinical trials designed to investigate new therapeutic procedures, such as vaccines or medicines to cure a disease.

3- Detection

In this case, the clinical trial is used to evaluate a disease and establish the appropriate protocols for action.

4- Preventive

As the name suggests, preventive clinical trials reduce the chances of developing a disease, since they involve individuals with risk factors for contracting the disease.

Why does a clinical trial need medical translation?

Medical translation is an area of specialisation within translation that allows for the dissemination of new advances in research. In this case, the translation of clinical trials enables international cooperation in the development of new medicines and the discovery of new diseases. It is also a way of publicising the results of research carried out in another country.