Clinical trials internet resource
November 2004
Funding
Trials are funded by industry, charities (go to the Association of Medical Research Charities website at www.amrc.org.uk), and government organisations such as the Medical Research Council (MRC) - go to the website here, and the NHS - go to the website here.
The principal investigator(s) (i.e. the senior academic or consultant conducting the research, or in whose name it is being conducted) will have overall control of the trial, but most large trials involve many doctors nationally and sometimes internationally, in order to recruit the number of patients required to ensure reliable results and increase external validity.