Who conducts clinical trials?

Many pharmaceutical companies, research institutions, or other health organizations may be the sponsor of a clinical trial. The sponsor is responsible for funding and for designing a protocol with a set of detailed guidelines that are required to be followed in order to conduct the same clinical trial at several different locations throughout the United States, and often times in several foreign countries as well.

Although sponsors fund a clinical trial, independent doctors, nurses, and medical researchers conduct the trial in accordance with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations and abiding by the International Conference on Harmonization Good Clinical Practice (ICH GCP) guidelines.