Why Clinical Trials Fail Unexpectedly
This article was originally published in Start Up
Executive Summary
Is there an explanation for the recent spate of biotech Phase II and Phase III clinical trial failures? It's almost impossible to give general reasons for specific clinical failures. Several hypotheses, borrowed from the tenets of behavioral finance, however, may help explain some recent, unanticipated later-stage setbacks. They may also support other studies that suggest that small biotech companies fail more often in clinical development than their larger biotech and pharma brethren.