Quest Research Institute

“I learn something new about Parkinson's each time we are involved in a clinical trial. They help me to better embrace and learn to thrive with Parkinson’s disease. My husband gains a feeling of purpose and feels like he’s playing a more active role in his health.” #CitizenScientists like Stephanie of #GAPNet site Quest Research Institute make clinical research possible. Interested in how you can give back? Visit Quest at their Memory Matters Cafe on Thursday, September 19th to learn more about brain health and how you can help!

Looking forward to Philly! Can't wait to hear the latest in scientific developments of our industry partners and see the many posters by my favorites Peter LeWitt and our QUEST Medical Director Aaron Ellenbogen, DO, MPH!! If you're going please reach out!

Soooo proud of Team Quest Research Institute spending their Saturday with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, the Michigan Parkinson Foundation (MPF) and Donna Rajkovic’s team from Team Fox Detroit to educate metro-Detroiters about Parkinson’s support services, latest care recommendations and of course…RESEARCH! Our favorite Principal Investigator, Aaron Ellenbogen, DO, MPH was a guest speaker. PD IQ was a free seminar offered by the foundation - they do great work!

Soooo proud of Team Quest Research Institute spending their Saturday with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, the Michigan Parkinson Foundation (MPF) and Donna Rajkovic’s team from Team Fox Detroit to educate metro-Detroiters about Parkinson’s support services, latest care recommendations and of course…RESEARCH! Our favorite Principal Investigator, Aaron Ellenbogen, DO, MPH was a guest speaker. PD IQ was a free seminar offered by the foundation - they do great work!

Since seeing this article I have been pondering the failures that led to this situation. It seems that things went sideways on many levels. The sponsor, and whomever they relied upon to help with site selection certainly bear some of the responsibility. Given the report that multiple sites violated the protocol with GCP violations is alarming. It is hard to determine what the geographical location may have to do with this, but if it were a protocol issue, I would expect the protocol violations to be scattered geographically among all the sites. What is also difficult to fathom is how this got to the point it has. In monitoring visits, I would hope a CRA would be able to find systematic errors and ensure they are addressed. What is most disheartening is that NE3107 has a different mechanism than the monoclonal antibodies that they refer to in the article. While given the limitation and the modified intent to treat analysis, treatments with different approaches are needed. Although buried at the bottom of the article, the change in DNA methylation is very interesting and will be interesting to see if this is meaningful in this population or in other neurodegenerative diseases. My hope is that despite the setback of this study, that the errors that occurred do not cease development of this drug in AD. The lesson for all of us is that a single clinical trial that is fraught with systemic errors can kill development of what may otherwise be a viable or even promising treatment. Hopefully, this will serve as a reminder to sponsors, CROs, and sites how important the process is and how easily it can be derailed.