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7 of the Highest Paid Clinical Trial Companies

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In today’s post, I wanted to talk about some of the many companies that are willing to pay you thousands of dollars as long as you agree to participate in their clinical trial for a certain amount of time.

From simply keeping a food journal to trying out a new medicine, these trials greatly vary, but let it be known that there are thousands available every day.   You just need to know where to find them.

This is where I can help.

Before I start, remember that it’s so important to read what you’re getting yourself into before committing.

While thousands of dollars could be worth it, you have to remember that many of these trials ask that you test medicines or procedures that have yet to be released to the public yet.  You will always know what you’re getting yourself into before committing, so it’s best to read before solely looking at the payment offered.

With that out of the way, let’s jump in and talk about my favorite companies that find the highest paid clinical trials for you.  I will also some popular questions near the end as well.

The Highest Paid Clinical Trials (How to Find Them Right Now)

Acurian Health

Acurian Health does all of the dirty work for you, finding you the highest paid clinical trials based on your demographics.  They are a global company connecting research studies with people who may qualify.  In exchange for your time, you can get rewarded, sometimes as much as $600+

Here’s how it works:

First, they will let you know what studies are now enrolling.  These change all the time, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t see something you won’t qualify for.  Worst case, you can always click on the “other” tab to at least add your name to the database.

For instance, when I was writing this, there were a few of the categories available…

Click on one of interest and the company will ask you a few questions to see if you qualify for a study.  This questionnaire basically needs to know about your demographic and health history so that they can connect you with the right study.  After all, a researcher wouldn’t want you for a diabetes study if you didn’t have diabetes, right?

Depending on the study, it appears most can pay up to $600, not including the free care from doctors or the medication involved.  Some pay much more.  This alone could be worth thousands in value.

Once you sign up, you can then receive alerts in the future if any studies match your profile.



CenterWatch

According to the CenterWatch official “About Us” page, their mission is to be the leading source of clinical trials information for both research professionals as well as patients.

To use the website, it’s quite simple as all you need to enter is your medical condition as well as where you live.  As you type your medical condition, it will provide an auto-suggest list as to what you can click.

And, if you don’t have a medical condition, enter “healthy” to select “healthy volunteers” to see what studies are available as, yes, healthy people can partake in many studies as well.

With this information, the website will then list a variety of clinical studies in your area that may be interested in hiring you as a test subject.

For example, when I entered “healthy volunteers” and my location, Phoenix, Arizona, I was presented with the following opportunities:

If I were interested in any of these opportunities, I would just have to click on the “Learn More >>” button to learn more about what’s expected of me as well as what the study is about.  If it’s something you’re interested in, then you could contact the research team for more information.  The only downfall to this website is that they don’t tell you upfront how much you make, but this can be said with a few options I mention on this site.

As a last note, be sure to add your name to the website’s email notification list as they will send you an email anytime a clinical trail is posted that matches your demographic/interests.

Covance

Convance helps carry out clinical research studies on behalf of the world’s leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.  As more drugs hit the market, more people are needed for the studies.  This is where they come into the picture.

As I write this, the company has a few locations spread throughout the United States, with some studies paying more than $8,000!  So, even if a location isn’t nearby, it could be worth the drive to take advantage.  You just need to do the math to see if it makes sense.

To find a study, simply click on the “Browse Studies” tab and then filter your results to see what’s nearby.  Again, if a study isn’t nearby, be sure to read the description to see what’s expected of you as it may be worth it to stay a few days to conduct the study.

For instance, one study I saw paid more than $2,500 and only required that you stayed for a week, all of which they paid for.  All studies vary, so make sure you read the description to see what’s expected of you before applying.

ClinicalTrials.gov

I have mentioned ClinicalTrials.gov before, particularly in my get paid to be a test subject and get paid to sleep posts.

Maintained by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), you can search more than 300,000+ clinical trials in more than 209 countries.  By far, this is your best option if you live outside the United States.  It also has the most studies available.

To use, you can find a study directly on the main page.  Search for a condition (use healthy if no conditions are present) and include your geographical location at a minimum.  I recommend using the advanced search as you can narrow down your results to benefit your personal demographic.

Once on the results page, make sure you click on “recruiting” to only show studies you can apply for right now.

When you find a study of interest, click on it, read through it to make sure it’s something you’re interested in and then contact the researcher for more information.  All information can be found near the bottom of the page under the “Contacts” subheading.

Out of all options I list, ClincialTrials seems to offer the most trials, but you will have to jump through some hoops to find out what you could get paid.  To me, that’s the only annoying part.

National Cancer Institute

All of the clinical trials you find on the National Cancer Institute website are cancer related and approved by the NCI.

If you’re at risk or are currently treating cancer, then you may want to take a peek at their database to see if there’s anything of value.

To find a paid cancer clinical trial, you will need to enter your cancer type, your age as well as your zip code.

In doing this, you can browse through the many NCI-supported clinical trials, where you can view a description, eligibility criteria, locations, objectives and much more.  If interested in any, you can contact the coordinator for more information.

ClinicalConnection.com

The ClinicalConnection.com is yet another company I found in my research, acting as a third-party provider to help you find clinical trials in your area.  When I took a glance, they had quite a few studies I couldn’t find anywhere else.

To use, all you need to do is enter your zip code along with a health condition if you have one.  This isn’t necessary, however.

Aside from being able to search in the United States, they also have an international option as well.

In the search results, click on one of interest and fill out the contact form if you meet the criteria.

Search Locally

And, as my last option, you will find that there are a ton of clinical trials that are often held locally and really aren’t advertised nationwide.  You will just need to search for them.

As many of the options I already mentioned are offered throughout the United States, you may be able to find a local research facility simply by searching.  The bigger cities often have quite a few.

To do this, I recommend searching for something along the lines of “clinical trials in <your city>” or “clinical trials near me.”

Depending on where you live, this could yield even more results.

Browse a few of interest and see if they are listing any clinical trials.  Even if they aren’t, you may be able to add your name to an email list for future notifications.

FAQ

I’m by no means an expert, but I feel I did enough research to figure out how these clinical trial works and what’s expected of you.  In this section, I wanted to answer some of the most common questions in regards to these trials to help you better understand how they work.

What is a clinical research study?

A clinical research study helps determine if medication and/or treatment currently under development is safe and effective.  Basically, you will be a human guinea pig, testing these products before it hits the market as long as everything goes according to plan.  As all of these studies are so unique, it’s hard to say what is tested as researchers need test subjects for a variety of reasons.  Nonetheless, all legitimate research studies are supervised by doctors and health professionals in a clinical setting.  During this setting, you may receive what’s known as a placebo (not containing the actual medicine) to see how you react, but you will not know this until the study ends.  As the study continues, they will continue to gather information until the study is closed.

Do I always get paid?

Not all clinical studies pay, but this varies from study to study.  From my experience, almost all do, though.  Any reputable company will let you know everything that’s expected of you before you commit, including the compensation involved.  It’s up to you to decide if it’s worth it.  If you see nothing about the payment terms in the clinical research contract, then it’s best to ask before committing.  If it doesn’t pay, then you can simply decline the invite.

Will I qualify?

As there are hundreds of thousands of clinical studies, there will be a few you qualify for, no matter how healthy you are.  As you can see from the descriptions noted above, many let you filter your results so that it only shows you the trials that may be fit for you.  Even if you meet all of the qualifications, you will still need to be accepted by the coordinator after a thorough screening.  No matter who you are or what you have, there will be a study for you, I can assure you that.

What can I expect from these studies?

As mentioned, all of these studies will be greatly different, however, many will check your health in the beginning as well as give you specific instructions as to what’s expected of your during the trial.  Studies can range from simply taking medicine and monitoring your progress to x-rays, blood work and even overnight stays.  Some can be quite intense.  Again, read the instructions in depth as it will present you with a timeline as to what’s expected from you.



Is it safe?

All legitimate clinical studies need to follow rules set forth by the FDA and additional health authorities.  Each study must also be approved by an institutional review board (IRB) or ethics committee (EC), which are groups that help protect the rights of people in the study.  Always ask about this information to ensure you’re dealing with a legitimate researcher.

Is it risky?

Depending on the study, it could be risky.  This is why you need to talk with your personal doctor ahead of time to know the risks involved.  As many of these studies include taking medications, there could many side effects that the researchers don’t even know about.  This is why they perform the studies after all.  Remember that you’re one of the first people often taking the medication to make sure it’s safe to hit the market.  This is why they are paying you the big bucks!

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are a ton of high paying clinical trials out there.  You just need to know where to look.

Hopefully, this post makes it a lot easier to maybe find a clinical trial that pays $1,000, $3,000, $10,000 or even more!  It’s really not that hard.

There are tens of thousands of them out there at any given time for every demographic, so there’s never an excuse not to find one.

For now, start using the search engines I mentioned above to see if there’s anything of interest.  As long as you know what you’re getting yourself into and feel it’s worth the cash, then start applying today to see if you can get accepted into the study.

Best of luck!

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Tom Nathaniel

Hi! My name is Tom Nathaniel, and I created LushDollar to help share my honest thoughts on everything money. You won't find gimmicks here. It's the Internet's most honest money site after all. I graduated from Arizona State University, and I have worked in the finance industry since 2006, consulting with multiple Fortune 5000 companies.

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