Compounding for Investigational and Clinical Studies

An investigational drug study is a biomedical or health-related research study in humans or animals that follows a predefined protocol. Preclinical studies involve the testing of potential drugs in the laboratory setting or in animals and typically are conducted before a clinical study. In the medical and pharmaceutical literature, hundreds of clinical and investigational studies are reported annually comparing the effects of different drugs, dosage forms, and delivery systems. These studies may compare different products, or they may compare a product with a placebo. A compounding pharmacist is often the source of the products used in these drug studies.