Consortium for Clinical Investigation marks 1st year
Jose Rodriguez-Orengo, advisor of the PRCCI, and the nonprofit’s Finance Director Astrid Navarro discuss the entity’s achievements.
(photo by: Jose R. Madera)
The Puerto Rico Consortium for Clinical Investigation (PRCCI), an initiative created and promoted by the Puerto Rico Trust for Science, Technology and Research, marks the first year of operations this month, executives announced Wednesday.
As part of the celebration PRCCI has convened partners to present the scope of their achievements obtained this year, including several strategic partnerships designed to optimize clinical research in Puerto Rico, such as the alliance with the Yale University Research Center.
Among the performance indicators highlighted this year are the 22 clinical research centers on the island — three universities, a chain of hospitals, a cooperative of primary care physicians and several centers in specialized research — nine hired clinical studies, and the creation of 10 new jobs; close to 150 clinical research opportunities evaluated, more than 2,000 hours of continued education offered and more than 1,500 hours in activities to improve the quality of the partners’ operations.
“For many years Puerto Rico has been a great spot for various companies to conduct clinical trials, although in an isolated manner. As a result, on April 2016, the nonprofit corporation and subsidiary of the Trust, the PRCCI, was officially launched as a consortium of high-quality research units committed to reducing time and improving the quality of clinical trials In Puerto Rico”, said Lucy Crespo, CEO of the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust.
“We have created a unique business model to foster and enhance clinical research in Puerto Rico, by building capabilities and capacities not only to our member sites but across the entire island,” said Kosmas Kretsos, executive director of the PRCCI.
“Our ultimate goal is for Puerto Rico to be known for its superb clinical research quality and we are on our best way to achieve that,” he said.
The PRCCI is a cooperative, nonprofit organization of research centers to improve the quality and efficiency of clinical research.
Its mission is to make accessible to the patients of Puerto Rico medicines and innovative treatments, following the standards of good practices of investigation and to contribute to the global ecosystem of scientific innovation.
Its objective is to contribute to the economic development of Puerto Rico by becoming new sources of income and by retaining and creating employment opportunities for doctors and clinical research professionals.
