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The lung study promising a breath of fresh air in the research world
May 11th 2016
Could the Salford Lung Study be a “game changer” for the way clinical studies are conducted?
Researchers see it as a test bed for “real world” trials that could lead to the quicker introduction of drugs and medical devices. The Salford Lung Study is examining the safety and effectiveness of a new treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in 80 general practices around Salford in north west England.1 About 2500 patients are participating, half randomised to a new inhalation powder Relvar Ellipta (fluticasone furoate/vilanterol) and half to usual treatment.
Conventional randomised controlled trials are usually conducted in patients with selected characteristics, an arguably artificial setting. The Salford study differs in that it is a pragmatic trial of patients from everyday general practice, the first started before licensing.2
“In a real world study the question you’re asking is, ‘Will that medicine work in the general population … and in the health service setting in which it’s provided?’” says David Leather, global medical affairs leader for sponsor GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
(Matthew Limb, freelance journalist, London, UK)
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