We are aware that for medicines and other pharmaceutical products to be available daily or for marketing and consumption, rigorous and strict clinical trials are done to ensure their safety and quality. A lot of pharmaceutical companies spend millions of dollars in order to come up with products that treat or prevent diseases as well as improve man’s quality of life. During this meticulous and systematic process, scientists, doctors, investigators, and analysts are commissioned to perform tests as part of drug and product development. But we should know, are patient population, or the people who are part of the trials as subjects, given clinical trial compensation? Will this affect the validity of the clinical trial itself?
Clinical trial compensation: What is legal?
Since the facilitators of the clinical trials are hired and are working personnel of a pharmaceutical company, they are all given fair compensation since it is their job. However, some companies also give clinical trial compensation to their chosen sample participants who will undergo clinical trials. Although this is not necessarily a standard, some drug companies provide compensation to their target patient population.
Kinds of clinical trial compensation
Monetary compensation. This type of fee may be given to participants in exchange for their time spent during the whole trial period. This can also be a payment in cases where the product or drug gave a negative effect on their health. This is now considered part of insurance (hazard payment).
Reimbursement. This type of compensation gives benefits that are not payable with money. This may include transportation services, meals, housing and accommodation, and other perks like regular health monitoring for the participant and his family. These benefits affect the compliance of the participants since these would make their lives much easier while undergoing the trial.
There are so many debates and ethical issues that tackle whether clinical trial compensation should be accepted and considered a standard in the coming years. That is why the regulatory commissions like the FDA and EU are coming up with ideas on how to control and legalize payments and compensation so as not to create bias and raise ethical concerns while doing the clinical trials.