WeConnect FAQs

Joining is simple. Just fill out a short form with some basic contact information and select your areas of interest. By joining us, you will be kept informed of trials that match your health interests so that you can have further conversations with your healthcare provider and, for appropriate candidates, offer access to investigational treatments.

Absolutely. Your privacy is our top priority. We follow strict confidentiality laws and regulations to ensure that your personal information is protected. We will not share the information you give us in any way without your approval.  For more information about Takeda’s privacy commitment, please review our privacy notice.

Our registry includes a variety of clinical trials, ranging from studies on new medications to innovative treatment techniques. We cater to a multitude of conditions, so you can find a Takeda clinical trial that may be right for you.

You are free to withdraw from the registry at any time, with no obligation to explain why. Your decision will not affect your medical care outside of the registry and we will no longer use your information or contact you.

Each trial has specific eligibility criteria based on factors like age, health status, and medical history. Researchers use these criteria to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the intervention being studied.

Before participating, carefully review the informed consent document provided by the researchers. Consider the potential benefits and risks, the time commitment, and how participation may impact your daily life. Discuss with your healthcare providers and loved ones to make the best decision for your health and lifestyle.

Yes, participation is entirely voluntary. Participants can withdraw from the trial at any time for any reason without affecting their regular medical care. 

Most clinical trials cover all the costs of participation, including treatments, procedures, and sometimes even travel. A study team can discuss this with you further should you qualify and decide to participate in a specific clinical trial. Joining the registry costs you nothing.

As part of a clinical trial, your study-related medical care is provided by the study team at the location where you’re participating. This includes the principal investigator (or study doctor) — the healthcare professional who conducts and takes responsibility for the trial at that location — as well as other clinical study team members.

During your clinical trial, you may also continue to see your regular medical doctors for any care that is not related to the study. It is important for you to tell your study team about other conditions you might have, and to let them know which other doctors are caring for you. This helps the study team coordinate your overall care.

If you participate, the clinical trial will provide study-related medical care, and your regular medical doctors will address the other aspects of your health. Your regular medical doctors can also work with the study team to understand the details of the study and any impact it may have on your regular medical care.

Participants are supported throughout the trial by the medical staff conducting the trial, who can answer questions and help with your concerns that may arise during the trial.

Participation can vary from minimal impact—such as taking a study medication—to more time-intensive involvement, like regular monitoring and follow-ups. 

The number of visits can vary greatly depending on the specific trial. Some may require weekly visits, while others may only require monthly or even less frequent check-ins. We'll provide you with a clear schedule before you decide to participate.

Generally, it's not recommended to participate in multiple clinical trials at once as it can complicate the research data and may pose additional health risks. Each trial's requirements will be clearly outlined for you.

Yes, you can leave a clinical trial at any time, for any reason, without any penalty or impact on your future medical care.

Safety is important to us. If you experience side effects, the trial's medical team will provide you with care and will decide whether you should continue with the trial.

After your participation has ended, you and your doctor should work together to determine the next best steps for your care. Sometimes studies are designed to provide access to the investigational study medicine for longer periods after the study is over. However, this is the exception, not the rule, so please discuss this with your study doctor.

The trial might move forward and might not. After a Phase 1 or 2 trial, the results will tell the researchers whether to move on to the next phase, or to stop testing the investigational medicine because it was unsafe or did not meet pre-specified study endpoints. When a Phase 3 trial is complete, the researchers will examine the data and decide whether the results have medical importance.

A clinical trial is a research study that involves human participants to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of an investigational medical intervention, such as a new drug, treatment, or medical device. These trials are conducted to gather data that can lead to improvements in healthcare practices.

Clinical trials typically progress through phases: Phase 1 assesses safety and dosage, Phase 2 evaluates effectiveness and side effects, Phase 3 confirms results on a larger scale, and Phase 4 monitors long-term safety after the intervention is in widespread use. Learn more about clinical trial phases here.

All clinical trials have possible risks. The known and unknown risks of participating in a specific study will be explained to you during the informed consent process that happens before you decide whether to participate.

Clinical researchers must follow guidelines and regulatory requirements to help protect the rights, safety, and well-being of clinical trial participants. There are also many entities that provide oversight of clinical trials. These include the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), institutional review boards (IRBs), and independent ethics committees, and data and safety monitoring boards.

Your healthcare provider, clinical trial registries, and research institutions can provide more information. Additionally, patient advocacy groups often offer resources and support for individuals considering participation in clinical trials.

Each clinical trial has specific eligibility criteria, which can include age, gender, type and stage of a disease, previous treatment history, and other medical conditions. We'll help you match your profile with trials that you may qualify and provide you with the information needed to discuss further with your healthcare provider.

Yes, as with any medical treatment, there are potential risks. These may include side effects from the treatment, the treatment not being effective for you, or the trial requiring more of your time than standard treatments. We ensure that all potential risks are clearly explained to you before you decide to participate so that you can discuss further with your healthcare provider.

Some patients may take part in a clinical trial when there are no approved treatments for their disease, or when they are not candidates for, or no longer respond to, available treatments.

Participation in a clinical trial may not guarantee a patient receives the investigational treatment. In some clinical trials, a patient might be given another approved drug or, in some cases, a placebo (inactive substance). This helps researchers determine whether the investigational treatment is safe and effective. 

Informed consent is the process of learning the key facts about a clinical trial before deciding whether to participate. It is an ongoing process throughout the study to provide information for participants.

The duration can vary widely, from a few weeks to several years, depending on the trial's goal and design. If you are enrolled in a clinical trial, you have the right to stop your participation at any time for any reason.

Effectiveness is measured through specific outcomes outlined at the start of the trial, which could include symptom relief, improvement in quality of life, or other health indicators.

Researchers typically publish their findings in scientific journals, and some trials may also release results through media outlets. Participants may even be informed about the overall results of the trial once it is completed. However, individual results are typically not provided.

Takeda believes transparency and dissemination of results are critical for advancing medical knowledge. 

• Clinical Trial Results Disclosure
  • Takeda posts clinical trial result summaries on all applicable public registries and websites in compliance with applicable regulations and industry standards.
• Sharing of Clinical Trial Results with Participants
  • As of January 1, 2014, Takeda has been working with regulators and pharmaceutical trade organizations to adopt mechanisms for creating easy-to-understand plain language summaries. A plain language summary provides a brief description of the clinical trial design, objective and results written in clear language that is understandable to people without medical training.
• Want the details? Learn more here.