Managing Placebo Response to Improve Clinical Trial Success Rates

Why do promising investigational drugs fail to demonstrate efficacy despite genuine therapeutic benefit? High placebo response rates increasingly threaten trial outcomes across therapeutic areas including pain, depression, and neurology—masking treatment effects and resulting in failed Phase 3 programs worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

This white paper examines the neurobiological mechanisms driving placebo response, distinguishes between true placebo effects and pseudo-placebo measurement artifacts, and presents evidence-based mitigation strategies. Explore predictive assessment tools including expectation bias measures and personality trait evaluations, innovative trial design approaches such as Sequential Parallel Comparison Design, and practical training interventions for site staff and participants.

Includes a detailed case study demonstrating substantial placebo reduction in acute post-surgical pain trials through comprehensive training programs.