Clinical trials at heart of practical medical treatment

The importance of clinical trials should be affirmed and the rights of clinical trial volunteers be respected as they make significant contributions to human health, experts said at a recent medical promotional event.

"Clinical trials are a necessary step toward launching new drugs and providing better treatment for patients. Patients who participate in clinical trials are not only pioneers in assisting new drug research and development but also dedicated contributors to the advancement of life sciences," said Dr He Jie, director of the National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, at a grand launching ceremony in Beijing to mark the 19th International Clinical Trials Day on Saturday, a special anniversary for enhancing social awareness and promoting the professionalism of clinical trials.

"As the first cancer hospital in China, we are dedicated to promoting the translation of cutting-edge scientific and technological innovation into clinical applications. Our hospital has led more than 400 multicenter clinical trials during the last decade, bringing clinical benefits and confidence fighting against cancer to patients. This is our commitment and responsibility as the national cancer center," He said.

Since its establishment, CHCAMS has initiated around 4,000 cancer-related clinical trials. More than 80 percent of new anti-neoplastic medications marketed in China were approved through clinical trials in this hospital.

With the pharmaceutical industry boom in China, the number of clinical trials and participating patients have grown greatly in recent years.

Li Ning, vice-president of the National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, said that clinical trials are rigorously regulated in China in the new era of drug research and development.

"The medications should be applied to human only if their safety were adequately verified in pre-clinical studies," Li added that each step is meticulously documented and each decision is made thoughtfully. "The risks are there, but they are manageable and extremely low."

"Clinical trials are beneficial and necessary for human health, and clinical trial volunteers should be respected as potential beneficiaries, not guinea pigs," Li added.

Additionally, on the day of the event, a patient consultation committee was established. Professor Tang Yu, executive director of the Clinical Trials Center Office of the hospital, said the committee aims to establish a new mode of communication among doctors, patients and enterprises, to integrate the concept of patient participation in new drug development, to reflect patient-centric design and implementation in clinical trials, and to safeguard patients' rights.