What happens during a typical study?
Obviously it depends on the type of study as to what is involved, but a typical “in-house” study will probably run something like this: Within 8 to 24 hours after check-in, the “study day” begins. If it is a drug trial, this is the time you will be “dosed” (given the study drug). This will usually happen in the morning of the day following check-in, and usually after you have fasted for at least eight hours, though some studies feed you breakfast just before you are dosed. The drug could be administered in any one of several ways. The most common is to use an oral medication, either in pill form (tablet or capsule), or by drinking a liquid or powder solution. Other study drugs might be inhaled, injected, rubbed onto the skin, or absorbed from a patch applied to the skin. On many studies, a placebo (a dummy drug with no active ingredients) is given randomly to some subjects during each phase of the study. After dosing is completed, back-up subjects are sent home. The hours following dos
