Keywords
Clinical Trial Equity
Clinical trials
trials
meta-analysis
platform trial
How to Cite
Abstract
Platform trials are adaptive, multi-arm, multi-stakeholder studies that necessitate high-level infrastructure, digital data systems, sustained funding, and advanced regulatory frameworks (Clarke NW & James ND, 2023; Duan XP et al., 2024). The successful deployment of the RECOVERY platform trial in COVID proved their value (Vanderbeek AM et al., 2022). However, these are unequally distributed across the African continent due to their dependence on robust research systems which highlights deep-seated investment gaps. Africa’s clinical research methodological architecture and the pattern of platform trial readiness could signal structural inequity in African research investment. A cross-sectional registry-metadata analysis of 23,873 African and 190,644 United States interventional trials on ClinicalTrials.gov through April 2026, were computed to estimate disparities.
Even with a 17.1-fold growth in trial registrations, Africa registered 40 relevant trials versus 1,627 in the United States, revealing a 41-fold absolute gap in research volume. Structural inequities in research investment and methodological capacity gaps limit African clinical research output.
References
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2. Vanderbeek AM, Bliss JM, Yin Z, Yap C. Implementation of platform trials in the COVID-19 pandemic: A rapid review. Contemp Clin Trials. 2022 Jan;112:106625. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2021.106625. Epub 2021 Nov 15. PMID: 34793985; PMCID:
3. Duan XP, Qin BD, Jiao XD, Liu K, Wang Z, Zang YS. New clinical trial design in precision medicine: discovery, development and direction. Signal Transduct Target Ther. 2024 Mar 4;9(1):57. doi: 10.1038/s41392-024-01760-0. PMID: 38438349; PMCID: PMC10912713.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Zelda Sandra Mwebe, Felix Kofi Awuriki, Kimuli John Francis