Adaptive clinical trials are defined as studies in which accumulating data is used to decide how to modify aspects of the study as it continues, without undermining the validity and integrity of the trial. Marin lamb and Alex Foley of Biotec argue that giving sponsors the ability to perform planned changes to a trial design while it is still running can result in shorter development timelines and reduces costs. In a 2011 Pharmatimes survey, almost 60% of respondents reported that adaptive trials reduced trial duration by an average of three months. And the ability to reduce the time for which patients receive ineffective treatment is also an important ethical benefit.