Medicine, Monopoly, and the Premodern State — Early Clinical Trials

An examination of the use of clinical trials as a tool for the marketing and licensing of drugs in Europe from the 16th through the 18th centuries reveals a surprising history of governmental involvement in the certification of promising therapeutics. Clinical trials are such an integral part of contemporary medicine that we tend to think of them as products of our own modern age. Yet more than 400 years ago, clinical trials already played a substantial role in mediating the relationships among the state, the drug market, and consumers. An examination of the use of clinical trials as a tool for the marketing and licensing of drugs in Europe from the 16th through the 18th centuries reveals a surprising history of governmental involvement in the certification of promising therapeutics. Most drugs . . .