"CTU - Clinical Trial Unit" represents an area of ISCO - Interdisciplinary Study Center Oncology. The development of a drug is divided into four so-called clinical phases. While the ECTU (Early Clinical Trials Unit) focuses on early phases I and II, the CTU treats patients in "later phase" clinical trials, phase III and phase IV.
Phase III involves testing a drug in larger patient groups (often several thousand patients) and, depending on the drug, use over a longer period of time. Successful completion of the phases (I to III) is important in order to be able to submit an application for marketing authorization to the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM). After a successful marketing authorization, the therapeutic application in phase IV has to be monitored by clinical trials. The aim of the trials is to learn even more about the drug, e.g. long-term effects with regard to the desired control of the disease.
For "Tomorrow's therapy today", the CTU provides the prerequisites to be able to offer patients the latest treatment methods that however, have not been approved yet. Intensive care by experienced experts is guaranteed in both, the outpatient and inpatient settings.