Before a medication is released to the public, it typically goes through clinical trials. These are designed to determine if it is safe for public use. They will examine things like side effects or unintended consequences. Even if a drug appears to be safe while it’s being developed, it still needs to be tested to ensure that safety.
How long will these clinical trials last? That depends on a variety of factors, including the type of drug in question. Often, drugs have to go through a number of different phases, which can last for different lengths of time.
Phase I trials
With a new drug, it may enter into a Phase I trial, which is generally the shortest that will be conducted. It may take just a few months, and it is often less than a year. Usually, researchers are just administering a single dose without any other medications, so it’s a relatively simple process.
Phase II and III trials
If the Phase I trial is successful and the drug appears to be safe, it may enter Phase II and then Phase III trials. These are longer, with Phase II sometimes lasting for around two years. A drug that makes it to the Phase III trial may have to go through those tests for four to five years after that.
In other words, by the time many drugs are released to the public, they have been tested for seven or eight years to ensure that they are safe. This is not always true, such as when there’s an emergency situation or if there are no other treatment options, but this is the general tactic that will be followed in most cases.
Have you suffered harm?
Unfortunately, even when drugs are rigorously tested, they could be defective or have unintended consequences and long-term side effects that harm a patient. If this has happened to you or a family member, be sure you know what legal steps to take.