Ingenuity

Since its earliest days, HJF has tapped its ingenuity to develop services that fit its mission. The Foundation’s initial services focused on administering research projects and fostering medical education. From 1990 through 1999, HJF added service capabilities as its portfolio blossomed from 27 to 658 programs.

Military medical centers have long served as important sites for clinical trials of new pharmaceuticals. By the mid-1990s, the burgeoning study of new medicines and treatments at military facilities brought a realization that principal investigators needed assistance with the myriad issues surrounding clinical trials.

The Foundation responded to that need in 1994 by forming a Clinical Trials Office to offer administrative and management research services to military medical centers. The office immediately went to work, helping principal investigators with protocol submissions and procurement after studies were approved. The Foundation linked resources and pursued clinical research studies, freeing investigators to continue their primary mission of caring for patients.

Although early research efforts covered all types of pharmaceuticals, the oncology, cardiology and orthopedic therapeutic areas were especially active. In fact, early stent trials conducted at Walter Reed Army Medical Center paved the way for the standard of care that cardiac patients experience today, including Heparin-coated stents now used in cardiac catheterization labs across the U.S.

Since 1994, the military medical community has conducted a vast array of studies that benefit military and civilian health care, ranging from pioneering cancer studies to clinical trials on commonplace—but militarily relevant—ailments.

Eight years ago, HJF researchers and investigators at three Army medical centers pursued a Novartis study to test a new cream and spray that led to the development of a cure for the fungus that causes athlete’s foot. Since troops spend hours each day in combat boots and are frequently diagnosed with athlete’s foot, they were an ideal patient population to study new treatments. A safe, over-the-counter cure for preventing athlete’s foot leads to improved battlefield performance.

Currently, the office serves as the focal point for clinical trials and investigative studies within HJF by providing timely information to sponsors on institutional capabilities and requirements for conducting clinical trials in the military. For investigators, the Foundation provides opportunities to participate in clinical trial phases, as well as new drug therapies and special research projects. Additionally, HJF has cooperative research and development agreements with the Army, Air Force and Navy.

HJF’s clinical trials support staff assist scientists in the conduct of investigative studies. These individuals pursue commercial and federal sources of funding for clinical trials, assist in preparing and submitting protocols for institutional review board approval, manage personnel, support logistics and contracts, and prepare budgets, in addition to providing an overview for legal terms of clinical agreements. The office helps coordinate core support services consisting of nursing staff who are highly qualified and experienced in conducting trials of investigational new drugs in compliance with federal regulations and established clinical practices; research pharmacy services; and patient recruitment, scheduling and travel.