Platform trial
Platform trials are unique in their utilization of both: a common control group and their opportunity to alter the therapies it investigates during its active enrollment phase.Platform trials are often large, multi-site investigations and as a result, master protocols frequently try to identify common human and physical infrastructure to maximize resource availability and efficiency.Importantly, the addition or discontinuation of an arm must follow pre-set protocols such as reaching a certain demonstrated efficacy or being recommended by a set panel of experts.[3] While platform trials offer many advantages for investigating a single disease, their adaptive nature and potential for numerous and complicated arms may limit their applicability and feasibility.Platforms require a large number of experts for trial design, Data Monitoring and Safety Boards and operations leading to high cost and communication complexity.The long duration of platform trials may necessitate updates to the standard of care in the control group, complicating analysis.Additionally, the complexity of platform designs—often involving multiple sponsors and funding sources as well as changing treatment arms—can make them difficult to register in standardized databases.