Clinical research in P.R. gets boost through new alliance
Kosmas Ketsos and Kenira Thompson speak during a news conference Tuesday.
The Ponce Medical School Foundation Inc., a Puerto Rican research organization part of the Ponce Health Sciences University, announced Tuesday it is joining the Puerto Rico Consortium for Clinical Investigation, a nonprofit collaborative of top academic and private research sites in Puerto Rico to further clinical research on the island.
Clinical research is at the heart of all medical advances, as it determines how effective and safe a treatment is and how it is best delivered. The need for clinical research is even more pressing in areas of the U.S. such as Puerto Rico given the chronic under representation of minorities in clinical trials.
By joining the Consortium, the Ponce Research Institute will achieve synergies on access to research opportunities on some of the most important global health challenges of our time as well as on clinical research quality and speed of execution, entity officials said.
Both organizations will contribute together to the growth of clinical research in Puerto Rico and will ultimately help improve medical care for future generations of Puerto Ricans.
“We’re very excited to be joining PRCCI. This is a key step for us in our mission to make a difference by bringing more innovative research to the island and to help Puerto Rican patients get access to better treatment,” said Kenira Thompson, President of the Ponce Research Institute.
“Our collaboration with PRCCI and the other 18 members of the Consortium will take place on clinical trials but also on enabling activities such as training, data integration, and biobanking,” she said.
Meanwhile, Kosmas Kretsos, executive director of PRCCI, said the Ponce Research Institute’s impressive research track record speaks for itself, “and the consortium is extremely proud to welcome it to the PRCCI family of 19 members.”
“The Consortium has seen tremendous growth and delivered impactful results in its first eight months of operations. However, today, we are joined by one of the best research sites in Puerto Rico with integrated capabilities and devotion to quality,” Kretsos said.
“Today we are closer to realizing the PRCCI’s important vision of competing as one to enhance and promote clinical research and development for the benefit of patients, the Puerto Rican economy and global scientific innovation,” he said.
PRCCI was created by the Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust, a nonprofit organization established in 2004 to invest, facilitate and build capacity to continually advance Puerto Rico’s economy and its citizen’s well-being through innovation-driven enterprises, science and technology and its industrial base.
