Delcath Systems Inc (DCTH)

[daveyjones22]

Phase III
Phase III trials are generally the last stop on a drug's way from the lab to the pharmacy. These trials involve large subject groups and are designed to be the final assessment of a drug's efficacy and side effects. Phase III trials go one step further by comparing the drug candidate to the current standard treatment for a particular condition. If a drug is effective but shows no significant benefits over a treatment already in use, it can still be approved for production, though sales might not be as high as its developer had hoped. In the news, a drug that is proven to be safe and effective but that doesn't offer any advantages over the current "gold standard" treatment is often said to have "failed" the Phase III trials. While this something of a misnomer, it reflects the importance for pharmaceutical companies to develop innovative drugs that improve on existing treatment options.
Phase IV
Phase IV clinical trials occur after the approval and release of a new drug. These trials, which are sometimes not required, are used to further understand a drug's mechanism of action. For example, Phase IV trials often test the drug's interactions with other drugs and its effectiveness in certain populations that were not present in previous clinical trials. Additionally, drugs in this phase are monitored for long-term side effects that clinical trials were unable to detect. This can be important, since the relatively short duration of the clinical testing process doesn't allow for the observance of a drug's long-term impact on subjects. Vioxx, the blockbuster osteoarthritis drug made by Merck (MRK), is a well-known example of a drug recalled as a result of continual monitoring for safety.
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