Analysis of inequality in nanomedicine using clinical trials and disease burden

Aim: This study explores the impact nanomedicine will have on global health, poverty and inequality. Materials & methods: Using a nanotechnology search strategy, the team extracted nanotechnology clinical trials (CT) from the dataset clinicaltrials.gov. The team then combined CT with information about burden of disease data from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation. Finally, the team ran regression analyses to determine whether nanotechnology CT are decreasing inequality compared with non-nanotechnology CT. Results & conclusion: Nanomedicine and non-nanomedicine CT follow similar research patterns. In general, nanomedicine is neither increasing nor decreasing the technological gap between countries in the global North and South.