How do drugs actually work out in the real world? UofT launches centre to study just that

A new research centre focused on analyzing how both drugs and health technologies perform in everyday clinical settings has arrived at as part of the University of Toronto’s Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy.According to U of T News, the new Toronto Centre for Real-World Evidence (T-RWE) will bring together researchers, policymakers, industry experts and trainees to bolster Canada’s capacity in generating and using “real-world evidence”—specifically, health data collected outside controlled clinical trials—to inform health policy and clinical decision-making.Real-world evidence draws from electronic health records, health insurance data and claims information to check how well treatments work when used in everyday doctor visits.Health Canada and Canada’s Drug Agency say real-world evidence is playing a growing role in drug approval and reimbursement decisions, particularly as treatments become more specialized and clinical trials more limited. While randomized clinical trials remain the benchmark for evaluating new medications, their tightly controlled conditions do not always reflect routine medical practice. Strict eligibility rules can exclude patients with multiple illnesses, those taking several medications or members of certain populations, and trials can be difficult to run for rare diseases or highly personalized therapies.“Real-world evidence helps answer the questions conventional clinical trials can’t—like how drugs perform in routine care, who benefits most and where harms or inequities emerge,” Mina Tadrous, associate professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy and director of the T-RWE, told U of T News. “Through this centre, we will address pressing questions that matter to people like drug safety, access and effectiveness.”According to Fortune Business Insights, the global market for real-world evidence could exceed US$36 billion by 2030, up from roughly US$16 billion in 2023.University leaders say the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy is well positioned to host the centre given its ties to major research hospitals and expertise in drug development, public policy and artificial intelligence.The centre will host events, speaker series and training opportunities, and offer free membership to researchers, trainees, policymakers and members of the public interested in the field.

How do drugs actually work out in the real world? UofT launches centre to study just that

Register for free access or login.

Related Topics