Profil Institute Partners with Florida Hospital to Establish East Coast Center for Clinical Metabolic Research

SAN DIEGO and ORLANDO, Fla., June 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Profil® Institute for Clinical Research, Inc., a company focused on early phase clinical trials for diabetes and obesity, and Florida Hospital, one of nation's largest clinical care providers, announced today a joint venture to establish a state-of-the-art early phase clinical services center for metabolic disease research, including diabetes, obesity and cardiometabolic diseases. The Profil Institute at Florida Hospital will initially be located at the new Florida Hospital-Sanford-Burnham Translational Research Institute (TRI) facility in Orlando and is expected to begin operations in late 2012.  The institute will join the TRI as part of Florida Hospital's Health Village development zone and will bring approximately 75 new jobs to the region over the next 5 years.

"Profil Institute fulfills an important need by providing the critical services of early phase clinical trials.  It is their sciencific expertise and disease-focused approach in metabolic diseases that make Profil Institute an ideal collaborative partner," said Dr. Steven R. Smith, a key opinion leader in obesity and metabolism research and Scientific Director at TRI.

"Florida Hospital and its Translational Research Institute are positioned to make incredible advancements in metabolic research as a marriage between one of the nation's largest clinical care providers and a leading academic institute," said Profil Institute CEO Dr. Marcus Hompesch. "Profil Institute is pleased to be a strategic partner with Florida Hospital in this powerful collaborative effort that is sure to result in positive therapeutic outcomes for diabetes, obesity and related diseases."

The joint venture combines Florida Hospital's patient network on the East Coast and TRI's translational research focus with Profil Institute's Center of Excellence reputation and capabilities in early phase clinical metabolic drug development.  Profil Institute at Florida Hospital will expand Profil Institute's capacity to now offer disease focused early phase clinical research services out of two locations, the company's core facility located in Chula Vista, California, and the newly established Profil Institute at Florida Hospital in Orlando.

Profil Institute's broader geographical reach and the institute's ability to cover the entire spectrum of metabolic early phase clinical research services from drug development planning to study protocol design and execution to report writing and peer-reviewed publications, further positions Profil Institute as a strategic alliance partner for their bio-pharmaceutical clients. Profil Institute's capabilities and Center of Excellence approach will continue to produce meaningful early phase data to increase the efficiency of later phase clinical trials and will continue to play a significant role in helping to qualify or dis-qualify metabolic drug leads as early as possible in the clinical development process.

About Florida Hospital

With eight hospitals and 21 urgent care locations, Florida Hospital is one of the largest not-for-profit hospitals in the country, caring for more than a million patient visits per year – more than any other hospital in the country, according to the American Hospital Association.  The more than 2,000-bed system, has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the best hospitals in the country.

With advanced research and industry partnerships, Florida Hospital seeks to extend and improve the quality of lives through the translation of fundamental scientific discoveries to the diagnosis and treatment of human disease. For more information, please visit www.floridahospital.com.

About TRI

The Florida Hospital-Sanford-Burnham Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes (TRI) is the product of an innovative affiliation between Florida Hospital and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute. By linking one of the largest not-for-profit hospitals in the country with a nationally renowned basic science leader, the TRI bridges the gap between the research bench and the patient's bedside. The mission of the TRI is to extend and improve the quality of lives through the translation of fundamental scientific discoveries to the diagnosis and treatment of human disease. For additional information, please visit www.TRI-MD.org.

About Profil® Institute for Clinical Research, Inc.

Profil Institute is world-renowned as a Center of Excellence for diabetes and obesity early phase clinical research.  The company's advances in early phase drug research and its specific focus on diabetes, obesity and cardiometabolic diseases as it relates to the diabetic patient population have led Profil Institute to be the most highly regarded clinical research institute for early phase diabetes drug trials. 

Profil Institute has been involved with every clinically promising drug class and device development in diabetes and in more than 175 clinical studies since the company's inception in 2004. Contributing to Profil Institute's success is that the company is recognized as the leader in automated glucose clamps, considered the "Gold Standard" for the evaluation of anti-diabetic drugs and devices.  The company's key scientists hail from academic centers including the WHO Collaborating Center of Diabetes at the Heinrich-Heine University of Dusseldorf, Columbia University, University of Michigan and Harvard University. For more information visit www.profilinstitute.com. 

SOURCE Profil Institute for Clinical Research, Inc.