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About Clinical Trials
A clinical trial is a process that observes and studies the effect of a treatment, medicine or medical device, when they are administered to selected groups of people.
A VIsual Explainer Video
Clinical Trials are key to the future of healthcare and helping people! Check out this video to find out more about Clinical Trials and how they work.
See VideoWhat is a Clinical trial?
The goal of a clinical trial is to establish the safest and most effective treatment. With pharmaceutical therapies this is usually done by varying the dosage and or combinations of compounds in a controlled environment. If a medicine, for example, is proven to work in initial trials, after several years of testing various strengths and the reactions of its trial participants it will eventually be approved for use in multiple countries at a recommended dosage. During clinical trials Principal Investigators – highly qualified senior medical specialists – oversee the treatment to observe results.
What do the trial phases mean?
Clinical trials – which tests new treatments on participants – are divided into different stages, or phases. Early phase trials examine whether a drug is safe on humans and what side effects it might have, later phase trials will need to prove the correct dosage required for it to be effective, and study the long term effects of use.
Can I enrol here?
You can check if you are eligible for any of our currently recruiting trials on our 'Recruiting Trials' page, and/or register your interest for current or future studies. One of the MMCT team will then contact you directly. Alternatively, you can ask your GP or your clinical specialist for more information on clinical trials and if any of the currently recruiting trials would be of benefit to you.
Free regular monitoring
Participants in a clinical trial are closely monitored at no cost to protect your safety, improve treatment outcomes and assure data integrity. This offers the benefit of a deeper level of involvement in your own treatment which itself may improve your health outcomes.
Free access to top clinicians
Trials are led by the foremost medical experts in their field and participants receive an extraordinarily high level of care and attention – it’s the best healthcare you can get. Just by participating in a clinical trial the participant gains access to not just free medical care but also the best doctors.
Potential to receive new therapies
People who participate in a clinical trial gain access to the very latest innovative new medicines and clinical devices, sometimes years before they become available to the general public. When you hear about a remarkable new drug, you'll find that it was in fact introduced to patients many years earlier to good effect.
Help Future Generations
The medicines that you and your family use today were developed through clinical trials. Enrol in a clinical trial today to help develop the medicines of tomorrow.
Some care options may not be available elsewhere
In NZ medicines are purchased by the Government drug buying agnecy PHARMAC. PHARMAC has a limited budget meaning the only way to access some innovative and new treatments is through clinical trials.
Visit our Recruiting Trial to see if you qualify for any of our clinical trials.
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About Us
Aotearoa Clinical Trials is a fully integrated research unit based at Middlemore Hospital in the heart of South Auckland, New Zealand.
We perform biopharma and medical device clinical trials in partnership with all hospital departments focusing on the diseases and long term health conditions that affect our diverse community.