Clinical research comprises in itself the entire life story of a drug from its commencement in the lab to its sales in the market for consumer’s usage.
The molecule is first recognized in the lab and once this is done it goes through a process of detailed study or we can also call it animal studies, which includes identifying and studying the various aspect of the drug including its properties, efficiency, side effects, toxicity etc. This process is conducted in four broad procedures which are as follow –

1) First phase includes the trial of the medicine or the drug on humans, rather healthy humans to check on its various properties deciding whether or not it’s safe to be sold in the market.

2) The second phase involves near bout 100 – 500 people, upon whom the dosage quantity and the effectiveness of the drug is decided.
3) The third phase includes a larger number of individuals, near about 1000 people, this takes pace basically to determine the standard and quality of drug and to study its varying effect with the change different ethnic group and on the varying kind ailment the have, post which a NDA – NEW DRUG APPLICATION which lists the study data is filed to the respective authority asking for a legal permit to market and sell the product.
4) The fourth and the final step takes place once the drug is approved for marketing and is hence launched in the market. The purpose or aim of this phase is to identify the new or hidden effects and reactions of the drug (if any) once it’s open for use by the consumers.
Hence it is pretty much evident that the entire process and journey of a drug or medicine born in a lab and brought to the market would easily take 15 – 20 years. The entire process of clinical research includes –
• Management of data
• Medical writings
• Biostatics
• Intensive research and study

The role of a clinical researcher is to identify and evaluate various concerns and issues subjected to the mental and physical well being of an individual. A physical researcher has wide assortment of targets or objectives under consideration like – causes of the disease, process of the disease, the appropriate treatment and its result etc.

STEPS REQUIRED FOR CLINICAL RESEARCH:
The basic training for clinical research starts at pre-graduation level where the student can determine what field he/she wants to pursue a career in clinical research as there is wide range of options available like – biology, psychology, chemistry, physics, nursing, MMBS, Msc, Micro Biology, Msc Medical Physiology, etc in which they can do their majors in as a basic required qualification to take up clinical research as a career.

SCOPE OF CAREER IN CLINICAL RESEARCH:
The scope in clinical research is huge, as it consists of wide range of qualifications ranging form major in a particular science subject like biology, physics etc to a complete professional degree like MMBS, immunology etc and one can chose innumerable subjects for their research ranging from causes and spread of aids to the making and evaluation of a new drug.
There is a wide range of demand for clinical researchers both in India as well as abroad. Hence, I would conclude by saying that though clinical research is tedious job it holds huge amount of research and analysis where one can exercise his/her analytic skills and brain potential to the maximum as there is no end to the cause and effect study. So, if you are looking for a career in this field, there are tremendous opportunities out there. Considering the current job market scenario, clinical research is still a coveted career option for those looking for a job in this field, as there is ample opportunities to establish ones career in clinical research as it is not affected by the downturn in economy.