New Collaboration Gives Veterans Better Access To Innovative Research Trials

- NAVREF and VA Partnership Helps Propel COVID-19 Trial in Less Than a Week -

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May 07, 2020, 08:30 ET

NEW YORK, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Cohen Veterans Bioscience (CVB) announced today it is extending its commitment to the brain health of Veterans by supporting the National Association of Veterans Research Education Foundation (NAVREF) and the new VA Office of Research and Development (ORD) led Partnered Research Program (PRP). As an outcome of the Access to Clinical Trials (ACT) for Veterans initiative, the PRP increases veterans' access to high-quality clinical trials and streamlines the start-up of new, innovative trials to give Veterans access to world-class health solutions. By improving infrastructure, the PRP is helping agencies and organizations to partner more rapidly on critical research trials, specifically targeting the enhanced inclusion of Veterans.

"With critical support from our Champion Circle sponsor, Cohen Veterans Bioscience, and other partners, we have helped establish a program with VA ORD where dedicated facilitators will interface with industry sponsors and coordinate with VA-affiliated non-profit research corporations (NPCs) and VA medical center research services," says Rick Starrs, CEO, NAVREF. "Moving forward, this will expedite study start-up and the evaluation of a new generation of therapeutics for our Veterans and other patients."

One example of the effectiveness of the launch of the PRP is that it allowed the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to partner with the VA on its COVID-19 trial, which was rapidly activated in under a week.

"Veterans have made many sacrifices for our country and deserve access to best-in-class healthcare. In a short time, the new Partnered Research Program has already demonstrated that it can enhance the VA's research capacity and position the VA as a leading clinical studies partner," says Magali Haas, MD, PhD, CEO of CVB. "A testament to this accelerated implementation is the VA's new partnership with NIAID on a critically important COVID-19 trial."

As architects of the PRP, NAVREF and ORD will help streamline start-up activities and provide other efficiencies for VA multi-site clinical trials. In doing so, they hope to encourage more industry sponsors and enable Veterans to participate in clinical trials to give them access to new therapeutic interventions.

About Cohen Veterans Bioscience

CVB is a non-profit research biotech dedicated to fast-tracking the development of diagnostic tests and personalized therapeutics for the millions of veterans and civilians who suffer from the devastating effects of trauma-related and other brain disorders.

www.cohenveteransbioscience.org

About NAVREF

Formed in 1992, the National Association of Veterans' Research and Education Foundations (NAVREF) is the 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization of research and education foundations affiliated with Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers. These nonprofits were authorized by Congress under 38 USC §§7361-7366 to provide flexible funding mechanisms for the conduct of research and education at VA facilities nationwide.

VA-affiliated NPCs administered more than $1 billion of research activity at VA hospitals over the last 4 years.
VA-affiliated NPCs annually support more than 2,000 investigators
VA-affiliated NPCs annually administer more than 3,000 research projects

SOURCE Cohen Veterans Bioscience