With your participation in a drug study, you help to create the basis for the safe and successful use of drugs (evidence). In addition, you will receive a comprehensive medical examination (copies of the findings can be obtained from us free of charge) and an appropriate expense allowance for participation. These are defined in more detail in the calls for proposals (see above). (This does not apply if the study is conducted as part of your therapy as a patient:in).

Before a drug is approved by the authorities for therapy, extensive tests must be carried out under standardized conditions: Initially in the laboratory, then on animals and, last but not least, on humans.

On the one hand, there are studies that require only healthy volunteers as participants. Here, there are a large number of different studies that vary considerably in terms of their nature (e.g., blood collection only or drug intake), the time required (one-time appointment or several appointments, with or without overnight stay), and the resulting expense allowance.

On the other hand, there are also studies for patients with a specific clinical picture. These may be designed for a single clinical picture in otherwise healthy participants (e.g., cold sores); on the other hand, we also conduct many studies with patients with serious underlying diseases (e.g., cancer patients).

An overview of all our studies, including studies for patients with various underlying diseases, can also be found on the "Current Studies" page.

There are strict legal regulations and rules for conducting studies, which are intended to ensure the safety of the subjects and patients. The so-called study protocol with the specified conditions of participation and the exact course of the study is submitted for approval to the authorities (Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices or Paul Ehrlich Institute) and the responsible ethics committee. These review the justifiability of the study, the participant-appropriate information and the adequacy of the safety measures for the study participants.

A so-called proband insurance policy is also taken out for each study participant.

The risks vary depending on the study and depend, among other things, on which drug is administered in which dose and which measures are planned in the study (e.g. blood sampling). In turn, knowledge about the drugs administered may vary in comprehensiveness; while side effects are more comprehensively known for already approved drugs, such experience is lacking if the study is a first-time application in humans. A physician will inform you in detail about the individual risks of the study in which you are interested before the study begins, and you will be given the opportunity to ask questions without restriction.

Experienced physicians will be present at the study center throughout the study so that adequate treatment can be provided immediately in the event of any side effects/complications. In addition, our study center is located directly in the Medical Clinic, so that the connection to the emergency team and other specialist departments of the clinic is guaranteed.

In principle, you are eligible as a study participant if you: - are older than 18 years of age, - do not suffer from any serious physical or mental illnesses other than possibly are not overweight or underweight, - do not consume excessive amounts of alcohol or drugs, - do not wish to have children and are using adequate contraception (individual regulations for each study). In most studies, smoking is not allowed during the study period. Taking other medications (except e.g. the "pill" or L-thyroxine) is also not allowed in most studies. Before scheduling an appointment, our study team will check with you to determine if any medications you are taking will prevent you from participating in a particular study.

Further, study-specific requirements for participation in each study are defined via the inclusion and exclusion criteria and can be ascertained by the study physician during the preliminary examination.

If you are interested in participating in a study, you can first contact us by phone or e-mail without obligation to clarify any questions in advance. You will then receive the subject information for the respective study, which you should review at your leisure in order to decide whether participation in the study is generally an option for you (due to time constraints, among other things). If you are still interested, you are welcome to make an appointment with one of our study physicians, after which you can decide whether you would like to give your written consent to participate. After that, we will check your suitability for participation in the study in a preliminary examination and arrange all further appointments with you (if nothing speaks against your participation), e.g. appointments where you will receive medication or where control examinations and blood samples will be taken.

All further details are described in the information for volunteers, which will be discussed with your study doctor in a personal consultation.

Of course, you will also receive a printout of the documents.