The Good Clinical Practices are an international quality standard that describes the conditions and processes under which research using clinical subjects (both human and animal) is conducted and that define the roles and responsibilities of clinical trial sponsors, investigators and monitors.

In the US, Clinical Trial research must be conducted in accordance with a series of federal regulations that provide for human subjects protection and privacy and ensures the transparency of human subject research results through the publication of trial information and results on an online registry and results database (ClinicalTrial.gov). [Note: to register as a Study Record Manager (user) at ClinicalTrials.gov, contact the QA.] These regulations have been internationally harmonized through the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) who has prepared a detailed guidance document for Good Clinical Trials. Additionally, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) requires registration of all clinical trials (even non-interventional trials) as a condition of publication.

Additional guidance is also available for laboratories that conducted laboratory analysis in support of a clinical trial which are known as the Good Clinical Laboratory Practices (GCLP). Links can be found on the GCLP page.