Patent ID: 7983936

Claim:
A method of performing a clinical trial comprising: performing a first phase of testing comprising: randomizing participants into a first plurality of treatment groups including a first active treatment group, a first placebo group, and a second placebo group; administering the first active treatment group with an active treatment; administering the first and second placebo groups with a placebo; analyzing the participants for response; sorting the participants, based upon the analyzing the participants for response step, by creating at least a first non-responders to active treatment group, a first responders to active treatment group, a first non-responders to placebo group, a first responders to placebo group, a second non-responders to placebo group, and a second responders to placebo group; and creating a non-responder group comprising a combination of one or more members from the first non-responders to active treatment group, one or more members from the first non-responders to placebo group, and one or more members from the second non-responders to placebo group; performing a second phase of testing comprising: allocating one or more members of the non-responder group into a second active treatment group and a third placebo group; administering the second active treatment group with the active treatment; administering the third placebo group with the placebo; and analyzing the allocated one or more members of the non-responder group for response; and analyzing, using a processor, the efficacy of the active treatment by: analyzing response data of the first phase of testing based on a number of participants in the first responders to active treatment group, a number of participants in the first responders to placebo group, and a number of participants in the second responders to placebo group; analyzing response data of the second phase of testing based on a number of participants in the second active treatment group, determined based on said analyzing the allocated one or more members of the non-responder group for response step, and a number of participants in the third placebo group, also determined based on said analyzing the allocated one or more members of the non-responder group for response step; applying a first weighting factor to the response data of the first phase of testing; applying a second weighting factor to the response data of the second phase of testing; wherein the sum of the first weighting factor and second weighting factor equals a constant; and determining the efficacy of active treatment based on a combination of the result of the step of applying a first weighting factor to the response data of the first phase of testing and the result of the step of applying a second weighting factor to the response data of the second phase of testing.