Independent · non-commercial · publishes on a quarterly cycle|Current cycle 2026 Q3
Methodology|Interests|Funding|Corrections
Compound Evidence InstituteEvidence synthesis · established 2023Graded assessments of compounds, trials, methods and supply
Document set current to 30 July 2026
Defined term · Trial design and conduct

Active-controlled

A design in which the comparator is another active treatment. Establishes a difference between the two treatments and not an effect against no treatment.

Document identifier
CEI-GT-039
Series
Defined term
Version
1.0
Published
30 Jul 2026
Last reviewed
30 Jul 2026
Certainty
Not rated

§1Active-controlled

§1.2Category

Trial design and conduct — Terms describing how a clinical study is constructed and run.

§1.3Related terms

  • Non-inferiority — A design testing whether a treatment is not worse than a comparator by more than a pre-specified margin. A non-inferiority result does not establish superiority over…
  • Comparator — The treatment against which the intervention is compared. An effect estimate is always an estimate against a specific comparator, and no estimate is transferable to a…
Compound Evidence Institute · CEI-GT-039 · https://compoundevidence.com/glossary/active-controlled/ · retrieved 30 July 2026
Nothing published by the Institute is medical advice, a diagnosis, a prescription, a treatment recommendation or a purchasing recommendation. Compounds supplied for research use are not approved for human or veterinary use in any jurisdiction, and a favourable analytical assessment of a supplier is not a statement that any product is safe or effective. The Institute publishes certainty ratings and never recommendations. No telephone number, messaging handle or ordering channel appears anywhere on this site.