Ibn Sina and the Clinical Trial

Approximately 1000 years ago, a physician by the name of Ibn Sina, known in the West as “Avicenna, ” wrote 7 conditions for “The recognition of the strengths of the characteristics of medicines through experimentation. ” Ibn Sina proposed applying logic to the testing of drugs, and in doing so, he wrote the earliest known treatise related to clinical trials. This article presents an overview and the historical context of Ibn Sina’s life and work. In addition, the authors provide a translation of his treatise on drug testing and discuss its similarity to modern concepts of pharmacology and clin-ical trials. Ann Intern Med. 2009;150:640-643. www.annals.org For author affiliations, see end of text. Approximately 1000 years ago, a Persian (Iranian) phy-sician by the name of Abu-’Ali al-Husayn ibn Abdal-lah ibn-Sina (commonly known as “Ibn Sina, ” but also known as “Avicenna ” in the West), wrote a treatise on th