Every day, millions of people participate in clinical research studies as volunteers. All of the medicine that you, your friends, and your loved ones take – or have ever taken – is available to you because of a clinical research study! Clinical research studies are necessary to prove that a medicine or treatment is both safe and effective. Clinical research studies could not occur without people who are willing to participate. There is no substitution for volunteers who participate in these studies. They provide invaluable information and help assist physicians in attaining medical breakthroughs.