The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved more than 145 new drugs since the start of 2017, and a few more could join their ranks in the remaining days of this year. A quick search of the National Institutes of Health clinical trial database finds that pharmaceutical and biotech companies sponsored an astonishing 10,148 clinical trials in the U.S. that are either underway or recruiting patients. That figure does not include trials being run by academic groups or government agencies, such as the National Cancer Institute, nor does it include trials being conducted outside of the U.S.
Even the biggest pharmaceutical companies may need some assistance in managing all these studies. That's where contract research organizations (CROs) step in. These companies help set up, operate, and collect the data from various clinical trials, sometimes in other countries. This allows drugmakers to conduct trials in nations where they have no corporate presence, and it reduces the need to hire and fire people as the studies start and finish.
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