Like you have mentioned, clinical tests takes place to evaluate the safety for human well being. Similarly, Pharmaceutical companies conduct clinical test to evaluate the safety and efficacy of their drugs. This tests are an important requirement to obtain regulatory approval so the drugs can be provided to patients. The test consists of a series of phases to ensure the product is safe and effective to treat the disease for what it is meant for. The stages of clinical trials starts with pre-clinical research and process through phase I, phase II, and phase III. Pre-clinical research is where it is tested by the manufacturer on cell cultures and on animal methods for toxicity to discover if unknown results are shown. From there, phases I to III takes place which gives pharmaceuticals companies authority to go next level which is phase IV to research more on information about the side effects and safety of the drug. Just like medical devices, drugs also progress though stages of tests/studies, only difference is in order to cure certain diseases those research still needs more work.