The PI is not paid directly by the drug company for doing the trial. That's not permitted. He's a clinician who is already on the staff of the clinical centre. The company's grant can include an appropriate percentage of the PI's salary, but it is paid to the centre and cannot be used to inflate his or her income.

The staff would be some of the same staff that normally run the services of the clinical centre. There will be a team including a statistician. The PI is the top man and he will be the Chairman of the trial committee. He will report the results to the sponsor, present them at congresses, and publish them in scientific journals. The news is released by the sponsor or PI by agreement.