MAMS trials

PLATYPUS is the Australian extension of an international trial based in the United Kingdom called OCTOPUS. As part of OCTOPUS, PLATYPUS will use a type of trial design known as Multi-Arm Multi-Stage (MAMS).  

This method can have many advantages over traditional trials: 

• It allows several treatments to be tested at the same time against a common control/placebo (i.e. “multi-arm”). 

• Treatments which appear to be effective from the early data can continue onto the next trial stage without the team having to stop and set up a new trial (i.e. “multi-stage”). 

• It allows data to be analysed while the trial is ongoing, rather than only at the end.  

• Decisions can also be made on early results about stopping treatments that do not show promise. 

• When new information about different treatments becomes available, these treatments could be added into the trial.