We know. You want to enter a clinical trial.  But, you want to make sure you’re getting an active treatment rather than a placebo, especially when dealing with a serious condition. While placebos are necessary in some trials to test how well a treatment works, not all clinical trials have a placebo arm.

Here are some ways to avoid being placed in a placebo group:

  1. Look for Open-Label Studies – These trials do not use placebos, and all participants receive the actual treatment.
  2. Seek Trials Without a Placebo Arm – Some trials compare a new treatment against the standard of care instead of a placebo.
  3. Find Trials with a Crossover Design – In these studies, even if you’re placed in the placebo group initially, you will eventually be switched to the active treatment.
  4. Ask About the Trial’s Design – When you contact the study team, ask directly if there is a placebo group and how they assign treatments.
  5. Check for Expanded Access Programs – If you’re ineligible for a clinical trial or don’t want to risk receiving a placebo, some drug companies offer experimental treatments outside of trials.