Leaders of the Operation Warp Speed (OWS) program visited Meridian Clinical Research’s internal medicine site in Savannah, GA. Visitors included Moncef Slaoui, chief advisor, and General Gustave F. Perna, chief operating officer, of OWS.
In May, the federal government announced the OWS program to accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics.
Paul Bradley, MD, principal investigator at Meridian, enrolled the first patient into a Phase III COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial at the Savannah site on Monday, July 27, 2020. Meridian is conducting Phase III COVID-19 clinical trials at nine sites nationwide.
The Phase III clinical trials will help determine the safety and efficacy of investigational vaccines intended to protect against COVID-19. Eligible participants must be 18 or older, and will receive study-related exams, and an investigational COVID-19 vaccine or placebo at no cost. As part of these studies, Meridian is also seeking:
- People who may be in close, regular contact with infected persons; this may include, but is not limited to essential workers, healthcare workers, first responders, manufacturing/factory workers, teachers, transit workers, etc.
- People with underlying health conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, asthma, etc.
- Healthy individuals age 18+ with no known history of COVID-19 infection
Eligible participants will receive compensation for participating and do not need health insurance to join. People interested in joining a study can sign up for more information at mcrmed.com/covid-19-vaccine-study. Meridian is now seeking participants for COVID-19 vaccine studies in the following locations:
- Georgia (Savannah): Meridian Clinical Research, 340 Eisenhower Dr #1200, Savannah, GA 31406
- Louisiana (Baton Rouge): Meridian Clinical Research, 5326 O’Donovan Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70808
- Maryland (Rockville): Meridian Clinical Research, 1201 Seven Locks Road, Suite 111, Rockville, MD 20854
- Nebraska (Grand Island): Meridian Clinical Research, 2444 West Faidley Avenue, Grand Island, Nebraska 68803
- Nebraska (Norfolk): Meridian Clinical Research, 1410 N 13th St, Suite 5, Norfolk, NE 68701
- Nebraska (Omaha): Meridian Clinical Research, 3319 N 107th St, Omaha, NE 68134
- New York (Binghamton): Meridian Clinical Research, 1290 Upper Front Street, Binghamton, NY 13901
- New York (Endwell): Meridian Clinical Research, 415 Hooper Road, Endwell, NY 13760
- South Dakota (Dakota Dunes): Meridian Clinical Research, 330 Dakota Dunes Blvd #400, Dakota Dunes, SD 57049
Sponsors and CROs interested in leveraging Meridian’s network for vaccine trials should email Andrew Kimball, VP, business development, at akimball@mcrmed.com.