Kaiser Permanente unit joins Quintiles 'Prime Site' network

A unit of US health maintenance organisation Kaiser Permanente has become the fourth in Quintiles’ network of 'Prime Sites' - large clinical institutions which collaborate with the contract research organisation in the conduct of clinical trials.

Southern California Permanente Medical Group (SCPMG) joins Queen Mary's College in London in the UK, the University of Pretoria in South Africa and Washington Hospital Center in Washington DC, USA, in the Prime Site network.

The aim of the Prime Site scheme, which started about two and a half years ago, is to partner with clinical institutions which have reached a high standard of expertise, have access to a high volume of patients, and have clinical specialists operating across a good range of therapeutic categories

That level of access to patients and clinicians means that trials can progress about a third faster than other investigation sites, according to Quintiles.

SCPMG has more than three million members and covers major metropolitan centres such as Los Angeles and San Diego, as well as Orange and Ventura counties.

Adam Chasse, who heads the Prime Site programme at Quintiles, said such alliances are critical as they help develop "new and better medicines while keeping patient care at the forefront".

Additional partnerships are planned, according to Quintiles, which wants to have a dozen or so in place around the world within the next few years.

In return for patient and physician access at each of the sites, Quintiles provides financial support, training and support to help them develop their clinical research infrastructure, with a manager located onsite to coordinate the alliance.

SCPMG represents "practicing physicians who use their clinical acumen and methodological training to bridge the gap between basic research and clinical practice", said the group's director of clinical trials, Donald Fong.

"Typically, clinical trials research in Kaiser Permanente is aimed at evaluating the impact of interventions at the bedside," he added.

"This perspective ensures that trials address meaningful questions."

Phil Taylor