Phase 1 trials are the gatekeeper of clinical research as they are often the first time a potential new drug treatment enters humans ( First-in-Man or FIM trials). In the past FIM trials usually enrolled between 20 and 80 healthy volunteers carefully screened for the absence of disease and in part paid for trial participation. However, this is no longer the case. Due to recent concerns over drug safety – for example the Northwick Park experience with TGN1412 causing serious adverse reactions in healthy volunteers - and with the advance of medical science leading to the development of treatments with greater specificity Phase 1 research now increasingly considers patients.

Corruption runs against the grain of meritocratic capitalism. It skews the level playing-field; it imposes onerous and unpredictable transaction costs; it guarantees extra returns where none should have been had; it encourages the misallocation of economic resources; and it subverts the proper functioning of institutions. It is, in other words, without a single redeeming feature, a scourge.
Strangely, this is not how it is perceived by its perpetrators: both the givers and the recipients. They believe that corruption helps facilitate the flow and exchange of goods and services in hopelessly clogged and dysfunctional systems and markets (corruption and the informal economy "get things done" and "keep people employed"); that it serves as an organizing principle where chaos reins and institutions are in their early formative stages; that it supplements income and thus helps the state employ qualified and skilled personnel; and that it preserves peace and harmony by financing networks of cronyism, nepotism, and patronage.

Whether you’re new to online meetings, or an experienced professional, having the right skill set to organize and lead an effective online meeting is essential. Seen as an alternative to expensive travel, many organizations are electing to hold meetings online to cut back on travel expenses, which include the loss of productivity while you are out of the office.The concept of hosting a meeting online isn’t new. With expanding Internet band width capabilities and inexpensive voice options, the adaptation of online meetings as a preferred platform has been growing in recent years. Ideal for shorter meetings, or meeting with large groups of people in remote locations, the ability for organizations to gather and connect stakeholders through multimedia platforms has never been easier than today.