This recent article is part of Nature Outlook: Children‘s health and focuses on the lack of medicines approved for paediatric use.  

According to the article, “although the number of trials in kids has increased over the years, lack of data is still delaying paediatric labelling of drugs and leaving physicians with little information about whether the drugs are effective or safe in children.” Furthermore, “paediatric trials are generally slower and more expensive than adult ones because it is harder to recruit participants, the ethical bar is higher and there is less money to be made.” 

A shortage of participants means that paediatric trials take longer and there is less financial incentive for pharmaceutical companies. In addition, childhood diseases are rarer than those in adults, so there are fewer people to choose from and to recruit enough children, trials often have to be run concurrently in several locations. 

Despite these difficulties, progress has been made and as CVBF we are committed to make this happen for the benefits of all children.  

The full article is available here.