title: Should non-inferiority drug trials be banned altogether?
abstract: Non-inferiority (NI) trials can be used in a situation when a new drug is expected to have a similar efficacy to its comparator but can offer other advantages over the existing drug, such as a more convenient method of administration or fewer side effects. Here, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of NI trials from an ethical, methodological and regulatory perspective. We suggest that such trials should be designed to address simultaneously the objective of showing NI with regard to drug efficacy and the objective of establishing superiority of the additional advantages of a drug over its active comparator.
authors: Division of Pharmacoepidemiology & Clinical Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences UIPS, Utrecht University, PO Box 80082, 3508TB Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors: Grace
authors: G
authors: Wangge
authors: Olaf H
authors: OH
authors: Klungel
authors: Kit C B
authors: KC
authors: Roes
authors: Anthonius
authors: A
authors: de Boer
authors: Arno W
authors: AW
authors: Hoes
authors: Mirjam J
authors: MJ
authors: Knol
mesh_terms: D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000941:ethics; D004358:Drug Therapy; D006801:Humans; D016896:Treatment Outcome