(Attending the Clinical
Research Unit Open House are, from left, Thomas J. Lewis,
President and CEO, TJUH; Brian G. Harrison, Board of
Trustees, TJU; Scott Waldman, MD, PhD, FCP, Associate
Professor of Medicine, Biochemistry and Molecular
Pharmacology, and Director, Division of Clinical
Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, JMC; Robert L. Capizzi, MD, FACP, Magee
Professor of Medicine and Chairman, Department of Medicine, JMC; Paul C. Brucker,
MD, President, TJU; and Gerald Litwack, PhD, Chairman, Department of
Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, and Associate Dean for Scientific Affairs,
JMC. / Robert Neroni Photography )
Thomas Jefferson University has opened a new Clinical Research Unit as part of its Division of Clinical Pharmacology to conduct Phase I, Phase II and, in some instances, Phase III clinical drug trials. An Open House, attended by University staff and pharmaceutical company representatives, was held to introduce the 16-bed facility which will provide researchers with the opportunity to study the safety and tolerability of investigational drugs in patients.
"The new unit provides us with a great venue to investigate new drugs designed to treat a whole gamut of diseases and conditions," explained Scott Waldman, MD, PhD, FCP, Associate Professor of Medicine, Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, and Director, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine. "The focus of the research unit is to perform clinical trials for pharmaceutical and biotechnology sponsors as well as clinical investigators at Jefferson."
The ultimate goal for the unit is to become a resource for Jefferson researchers to perform investigator-initiated clinical research studies. Ideally, the research unit will eventually give Jefferson researchers the chance to have an immediate and convenient site that will aid them in bringing their findings from the research bench to the patient's bedside.