The Austin Regional Clinic Wilson Parke clinical research facility is in the process of initiating its sixth clinical trial since its launch in November, Clinical Research Manager Grace Bullock said.
The first trials were focused on influenza and osteoarthritis, spokesperson Ellen Decareau said.
Amy Ruiz, clinical research coordinator at Austin Regional Clinic's clinical research program, checks the vital statistics of a participant.[/caption]The upcoming research will continue to study osteoarthritis, but trials in asthma, Type 2 diabetes and more will begin over the summer, Bullock said.
“Our goals are to provide patients access to studies and medications that can benefit the community as a whole,” Bullock said.
Dr. Anurekha Chadha, the physician leader of the program and an ARC rheumatologist, said the facility typically captures patients within a 10-mile radius of the clinic. Currently ARC is screening patients to find those qualified to participate in the next study.
“We look for patients who are not getting adequate relief,” Chadha said of the studies. “It gives them this pipeline of having this extra level of care available.”
She said the criteria to participate in the studies are strict. They evaluate the potential participants’ present health and medical history and make sure they have the diagnosis necessary for the study, such as osteoarthritis.
“I’ve learned that the process is safeguarded very carefully for the patient,” program Subinvestigator Dr. Gretchen Crook said.
Once the research staff determines that it is safe for the patient to take part in the study, he or she can return for a “randomization visit,” Chadha said. During this meeting, they receive the study medications. These drugs were created by a pharmaceutical company and after initial stages of testing are given to research sites such as the ARC research clinic.
ARC’s osteoarthritis research is a Phase 3 study, which is the last phase before the medication is submitted to the Food and Drug Administration, Chadha said. According to the FDA, Phase 3 studies research a drug’s effectiveness and safety in a large number of individuals—often from several hundred to 3,000—after evidence of effectiveness has already been demonstrated.
“For me, it’s a sense of contribution to science within our community,” Clinical Research Coordinator Amy Ruiz said.
Individuals interested in participating in the ARC clinical research program can visit www.austinregionalclinic.com. To learn more about the stages of pharmaceutical research, see www.clinicaltrials.gov.
