It is an interesting time for drug development and clinical trials. The corona virus issues have ignited a groundswell of support. I think we are about to see a surge in reports and results from clinical research, treatment and vaccine development.
We’ll be hearing about efficacy and safety: Questions such as – Does it work? How safe is it? How can production be scaled up to meet needs? What is the risk benefit assessment?
There are laudable collaborative efforts from different disciplines and different sectors nationally and internationally.
There are well-defined processes in place to ensure good practice and regulation. There will be innovative proposals for fast-tracking promising leads. There are likely to be exciting findings and also disappointing findings, and most probably some surprising findings – such is the nature of research and development.
Communication will also be key. Fake news and over-hyped reports are potential concerns. There is a sense of urgency. There also needs to be a degree of patience as well because sound scientific evidence, fact-checking, rigorous testing and methodology are very important.
These are interesting times and there are a plethora of good intentions and talented people working flat-out.
I think we can be realistic and hopeful too!
by Dr Julie Charlesworth 27/4/20