Scientific knowledge, as measured by numbers of papers published, has been estimated to double every 17.3 years. However, it takes an average of about 17 years for health and medical research – going from basic lab studies on cell cultures and animals to clinical trials in people – to result in actual changes patients see in the clinic.
The typical process of medical research is generally not well equipped to respond effectively to quickly evolving pandemics. This has been especially evident for the COVID-19 pandemic, in part because the virus the causes COVID-19 mutates frequently. Scientists and public health officials are often left continually scrambling to develop and test new treatments to match emerging variants.
