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Few clinical trials are done in Africa: COVID-19 shows why this urgently needs to change
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Few clinical trials are done in Africa: COVID-19 shows why this urgently needs to change
Clinical trials are the foundation of any new medicine. They allow scientists to test the efficacy and safety of a drug or therapy.
The African continent offers many of the best conditions for conducting clinical trials. It has a diverse population of potential patients, and many have not been previously exposed to any kind of pharmaceutical drugs. Importantly, a number of diseases – particularly those defined as neglected and tropical – are endemic to the developing world, which includes Africa.
So it makes sense to run clinical trials for drugs that would treat such diseases in the areas most affected by them.