General Public

The Research Division of Associates in Ophthalmology is involved in numerous FDA-sponsored, national multicenter clinical trials that enable eligible patients to have access to new therapies and technologies not yet available to the general public. Pharmaceutical and surgical companies partner with AIO for the purpose of conducting these clinical trials. Here at Associates in Ophthalmology we offer patients who enroll in our clinical trial studies the most advanced treatments and medicines not yet available to the public.

Clinical trials are necessary to develop new medications to treat medical conditions or to improve existing ones. There are four phases of clinical research.

PHASE ONE: This phase consists of testing new medications or products on humans. It is done in a small number of healthy volunteers (20 to 100 persons). In this phase, the medication or product is tested for safety.

PHASE TWO: During this phase, once the drug or product is proven to be safe, it will be tested for efficacy (the capacity to produce a desired effect under ideal or optimal conditions). This phase of testing may last from several months to two years and involves up to several hundred patients.

PHASE THREE: In a phase III study, a drug or product is tested on several hundred to several thousand patients. This large-scale testing provides the pharmaceutical company and the FDA with a more thorough understanding of the drug's effectiveness, benefits and the range of possible adverse reactions. Pharmaceutical companies can request FDA approval for marketing the drug after the successful completion of this phase.

PHASE FOUR: In phase IV studies, pharmaceutical companies have several objectives: (1) a drug may be compared with other drugs already on the market; (2) a drug's long-term effectiveness and impact on a patient's quality of life may be assessed; and (3) to determine the cost-effectiveness of a drug therapy relative to other traditional and newer therapies.

All clinical trials are regulated/monitored by either the FDA or an Independent Review Board (IRB).

Please ask your physician if you might qualify for a clinical trial related to your eye condition.

You may also be compensated for your time associated with a clinical trial.