Clinical Trials

A clinical trial is a research study conducted with human volunteers to answer specific questions about the safety and treatment effectiveness of an investigational drug for a specific health problem or disease. Carefully conducted clinical trials are necessary in order to find treatments that work in people.

Elan is focused on addressing significant unmet medical needs, and we are conducting numerous clinical trials of investigational drugs -- from early to late stage testing  -- for treating Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s disease.

Learn More About Clinical Trials

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) establishes rules and guidelines for clinical research  to ensure that participants in studies are treated as safely as possible and that their information is kept confidential according to guidelines in the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Clinical trials must be conducted according to a protocol that describes what types of patients may enter the study, schedules of tests and procedures, drugs, dosages, and length of study, as well as the outcomes that will be measured.  Participants must agree to the rules set out by the protocol.

clinicaltrials.gov, an interactive online database managed by the National Library of Medicine, features information about all U. S.-based clinical trials. ClinicalTrials.gov is updated regularly and offers detailed information about each trial, eligibility requirements, locations, and telephone numbers.

Learn about the clinical trials process at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/info/understand#Q01
Find answers about Clinical Trials at http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/byAudience/ForPatientAdvocates/HIVandAIDSActivities/ucm121345.htm
Learn scientific terms used in clinical trials at  http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/info/glossary