Characteristics of Clinical Drug Trials in the Elderly

Arzu Güneş GRANBERGa

aNovartis Institute of Biomedical Research Translational Medicine Director, Basel, Switzerland

ABSTRACT
Age-related changes might influence the pharmacokinetics as well as pharmacodynamics of a drug. Moreover, due to increased risk of chronic comorbidities and concomitant therapies, adverse events can be more severe with more serious consequences in elderly than in younger patients. It is therefore of outmost importance that study participants included in the clinical development program of a compound is representative of the target population considering the indication and mechanism of action. Accordingly, geriatric patients can either be included in the same studies as young patients for comparison or comprise the majority of the study populations. However, the current underrepresentation of elderly needs to be improved with recent advances in clinical trial recruitment and execution alternatives.
Keywords: Clinical drug trials; elderly; geriatrics; drug development

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