Can a clinical trial have multiple sponsors?

• A. No.
• B. Only with regulatory approval.
• C. Depends on the country.
• D. Yes, a trial may have one or several sponsors.

Answer: (D)

In GCP practice, a trial can be sponsored by more than one organization. This is common in multinational or collaborative studies where several sponsors share responsibilities, often called co-sponsorship, with each sponsor handling defined duties while the overall obligation to ensure compliance with regulatory and ethical standards remains with the sponsor(s). Documented agreements outline who does what, how safety reporting is managed, and how accountability is shared, sometimes with a primary sponsor and partner sponsors or with a sponsor delegating tasks to a CRO but still retaining ultimate responsibility. So, yes, a trial may have one or several sponsors.