This Brief discusses key statistical concepts that facilitate the
inferential analysis of data collected from a group of individuals
participating in a pharmaceutical clinical trial, the estimation of
their clinical significance in the general population of individuals
likely to be prescribed the drug if approved, and the related
decision-making that occurs at both the public health level (by
regulatory agencies when deciding whether or not to approve a new drug
for marketing) and the individual patient level (by physicians and their
patients when deciding whether or not the patient should be prescribed a
drug that is on the market). These concepts include drug safety and
efficacy, statistical significance, clinical significance, and
benefit-risk balance.