Donald A. Berry, Ph.D.
Professor and Chairman, Department of Biostatistics
Frank T. McGraw Memorial Chair of Cancer Research
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas U.S.A.

A Bayesian statistical approach to decision making from a medical perspective can be helpful in pharmaceutical company decision making. I will show how the Bayesian approach can be used to develop efficient designs for clinical trials. I will apply a decision-analytic approach to the question of proceeding to the next phase of drug development and address the optimal design of future trials. I will present case studies of trial designs that have the goal of maximizing information while minimizing cost, where cost is measured in terms of time, money and patient resources.