There are many challenges that clinical research may face, and there is a risk of failure along the many phases of development. For a trial designer, there are many innovative approaches in the early phase and particularly in first in human (FIH) clinical trials that can be taken. An overview of some of these is discussed in this article by Nariné Baririan of SGS.
https://www.jforcs.com/7/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Innovative-approaches-in-early-phase.pdf