Celebrating Science: Clinical Research

Pupils heard this afternoon all about the development of a drug from the laboratory through to the multi-phase process of its trials, the challenges developers face, what the future holds, careers pupils might consider and what they would need to get there.

Dr Howell also explained the effect of the pandemic on trials, causing them to initially stall and then go virtual. She talked about the subsequent benefits of those virtual trials, including the flexibility of using digital tools, being able to use participants from a wide geographical area, and retaining participants on the trial. Another benefit of the pandemic is the greater awareness of clinical trials, which has helped increase the numbers of participants.

Director of Science, Mr Jones, thanked Dr Howell for giving up her time for what was a fascinating and topical lecture and in turn, we look forward to the lectures Mr Jones has in store for us over the coming weeks.