Course content - Learning outcome - Admission - Prerequisites - Teaching - Examination - Evaluation

Course content

The course will give an introduction to bioequivalence and non-inferiority trials, and the analysis of such. As more and more clinical trials are focused on showing equivalence rather than efficacy, this type of studies become more and more common and important. The analysis of such studies are fundamentally different from analysis of traditional efficacy studies, and other methods are required.

Learning outcome

How do you set about showing significant sameness? This course will introduce the field to the student, paying as much attention to practical matters and philosophical issues as to the mathematics. Because cross-over trials have some complications of their own and because bioequivalence studies are most commonly designed as cross-over trials the course will also include a basic introduction to cross-over trials. Some very elementary pharmacokinetic theory will also be covered since an understanding is essential to understanding bioequivalence.

In the second half of the course, ACES (active comparator equivalent studies) will be considered. Once the basic theory has been covered, the issue of combining results from such studies with results from meta-analyses of the comparator to produce an interval for the difference to a ‘putative placebo’ will be considered.

Admission

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Ph.D. candidates at the University of Oslo and students at the Medical Student Research Programme will get first priority to the course. External applicants will be admitted if there are any available places.

Maximum number of particpants is 20.

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Prerequisites

Formal prerequisite knowledge

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MF9130E Introductory course in statistics / MF9130 Innføring i statitstikk or equivalent.

Recommended previous knowledge

Some knowledge of clinical trials.

Teaching

The course will be a mix of lectures, practical exercises and discussions in groups.

Students need to take their own laptop to classes. We will provide electricity. Data and other material will be made available before the course on this web page for downloading on your laptop.

NB! You have to participate in at least 80 % of the teaching to be allowed to take the exam. Attendance at lectures will be registered.

Access to teaching

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Examination

A take-home exam will be given at the end of the course. Grading: Pass/fail.

Examination support material

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Language of examination

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Grading scale

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Explanations and appeals

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Students can request an explanation of their grades, and can also appeal against their grades or make a complaint about formal examination errors. Read more about explanations and appeals

Resit an examination

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Withdrawal from an examination

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Special examination arrangements

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Evaluation

Feedback from our students is essential to us in our efforts to ensure and further improve the high quality of our programmes and courses. All courses are subject to continuous evaluation. At regular intervals we also ask students on a particular course to participate in a more comprehensive, periodic evaluation of this course.