Didn't think I would see another pharmacist on here. Sounds like you're somewhat into informatics. I got a first year residency that had a PGY2 in informatics. I decided that I'm in too much debt to be collecting that much interest for another two years.

I used to have an interest in programming when I was in undergrad (engineering major), but I started to get out of the 'scene', for lack of a better word after I was accepted into pharmacy school...

I was on reddit way back when programming was a main subreddit and eventually moved to this site when the comments and content when to hell.

It doesn't appear that anyone actually knows about the field here as this is really a non-issue for a simple reason (I chose you to reply to because you were at the bottom).

First of all, most immporant studies don't use a placebo because it would unethical when there are standard treatments out there already and you have to show that your new drug is just as good or better than those treatments (the proper terms are supperior vs. non-inferior trials).

But considering trials that do use a placebo - the whole point is to prove that their drug is superior to the placebo. If anything, when they design the placebo, it would have structurally similar molecules that would give the same side effects, and potentially the same results <-- which is key. A research DOES NOT WANT the placebo to do as well as their drug. The placebo can only hurt their results, not help them cheat.

You could also argue that since it's not regulated, maybe the active component does actual harm to make the test drug look better! No. There are too many studies showing what the controlled group should look like (whether they are on a placebo or on nothing at all).