Velocity Clinical Research acquires eStudySite Inc to increase volunteer recruitment from Hispanic communities in San Diego

DURHAM, North Carolina, Nov. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- North Carolina-based clinical research site company, Velocity Clinical Research, today announces the acquisition of eStudySite Inc, adding two sites in San Diego, California to its North American site portfolio, bringing the total to 14. The La Mesa and Chula Vista sites will make significant contributions to Velocity's drive to recruit more volunteers from minority communities.

The acquisition comes amid Velocity's participation in COVID studies where it is seeking to recruit over 20,000 volunteers across 10 of its existing sites. The acquisition also expands Velocity's testing capabilities in preventative treatments. The new sites in La Mesa and Chula Vista are enrolling patients for both COVID-19 treatment and COVID-19 vaccine trials.

Dr Paul Evans, CEO and President of Velocity Clinical Research, said: "Velocity has been aggressively expanding both its site portfolio and therapeutic ability since we launched three years ago. This acquisition is strategic for two reasons. Firstly, these sites are important for recruiting volunteers from minority communities and secondly, we anticipate a resurgence in the infectious disease area.

"2020 has been an unprecedented year for the clinical trials business and finding a coronavirus vaccine will probably be the most important work of our lives. But the industry has a problem when it comes to recruiting volunteers from minority communities and so they are severely underrepresented in clinical trial data. This problem has been magnified in the race to find a COVID vaccine. It will take myriad solutions to ensure people from these communities feel comfortable volunteering in clinical research and one step is having more accessible clinics."

The acquisition enhances and adds new therapeutic capabilities to Velocity's repertoire, including infectious and orphan diseases. eSS's hospital affiliation Sharp HealthCare at each of its sites, also provides them access to expanded patient populations and the ability to perform hospital-based and confinement studies.

Dave McCarthy, CEO of eStudysite, commented "We believe that Velocity has the right people and experience to help evolve the clinical trial landscape and that's why we are delighted to become part of the group. eSS shares Velocity's vision of providing the infrastructure to speed up and standardise data collection during trials in order that drugs and vaccines are approved quicker.

Velocity Clinical Research is currently enrolling patients in COVID-19 studies including all of the Operation Warp Speed studies across 10 sites in the US, in Ohio, Florida, California, Texas, Rhode Island, Utah, Idaho and Oregon.

Dr Evans added, "This year has tangibly demonstrated the benefit that prevention treatments like vaccines for infectious disease can have. We expect more funding in this area as a result and subsequently, more clinical testing.

"Today's acquisition demonstrates Velocity's commitment to advancing the clinical trials industry and we are actively looking to add more sites and therapeutic areas to our growing footprint in the US."

Notes to editors

People who wish to volunteer for a COVID study conducted by Velocity can register their interest at www.velocityclinicalresearch.com 

eStudySite Inc. primary areas of therapeutic indication coverage:

• Infectious Disease
• Vaccine
• NASH/NALFD (Fatty Liver)
• T2 Diabetes
• Dermatology
• Anemia
• IBS/Ulcerative Colitis/Crohns Disease
• Women's health
• Orphan diseases

The Velocity Clinical trial sites conducting COVID-19 studies are based in:

• Banning, California
• Austin, Texas
• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Cleveland, Ohio
• Providence, Rhode Island
• Salt Lake City, Utah
• Boise, Idaho
• Medford, Oregon
• Hallandale Beach, Florida
• Valparaiso, Indiana

About Velocity Clinical Research

Velocity Clinical Research, headquartered in Durham, N.C, is a leading site organization for clinical trials, offering dedicated site capabilities to help biopharmaceutical and contract research organization customers find the right patients for their studies. The company has 14 sites across the United States. With over 35 years of experience and more than 4500 studies completed, Velocity sites have refined their patient recruitment strategies while maintaining a focus on delivering timely and reliable data quality, placing the care of the patient at the heart of everything they do. For more information visit our website at https://velocityclinical.com.

SOURCE Velocity Clinical Research