The Quest for Essential Medicine Access

As director of the Clinical Research Center, Dr. Stacpoole is responsible for much of the clinical and translational research that occurs at SHANDS.  Most of the translational research is focused on the agents of disease and production of new medical devices. Clinical research is mostly hypothesis driven and takes a mechanistic approach to treatment schemes.  There is usually no therapeutical goal for the patients.

He then went over the steps in getting a medicine approved by the FDA.

1. Pharmacological trials

2.  Mainly for information on efficacy

3. Double-blind trials for dozens to 1000’s of individuals

4. Post marketing surveillance

The Orphan Drug Act was instituted to streamline FDA approval, thus lowering costs, for diseases that don’t make up a significant amount of the market base.

Lastly, he went over many of the notable orphan drug research that has been going on here in Gainesville (see slides 7-9). The patient base for many of the orphan diseases draws from a wide geographical net because they are so infrequent in the population.  Also, these trials in particular, are done in a protected environment, away from the concerns of insurance and hospital administration. If anything you see interests you, the best way to getting research experience would be to directly contact the lead investigator on a project and ask them if they need any help.

The GCRC is on the third floor of SHANDS.  Every summer, they have a 10 week program for medical school students to undergraduates working in the hospital.  Generally 6-10 undergraduate students are chosen to participate in the program.  Dr. Stacpoole’s email is stacpool@gcrc.ufl.edu if you would like to contact him about some of the summer positions.

Here is his presentation.

Dr. Peter Stacpoole will be speaking at 6pm this Thursday, November 16th, in Reitz Union Room 276. Dr. Stacpoole is the Director of the Clinical Research Center and will be talking about several research trials (examples 1, 2, 3) being performed at SHANDS on orphan diseases. He will conclude with information on summer research opportunities and other means for undergraduates to obtain patient-oriented research and training.

This month’s journal club will be discussing Mexico’s Popular Health Insurance in reducing health disparities, at 6pm Thursday, November 9th in the Reitz Union Room 288. Here is an excerpt of the article by Julio Frenk:

Mexico is a microcosm of the range of problems that affect countries at all levels of development. Its health system had not kept up with the pressures of the double burden of disease, whereby malnutrition, common infections, and reproductive health problems coexist with non-communicable disease and injury. With half of its population uninsured, Mexico was facing an unacceptable paradox: whereas health is a key factor in the fight against poverty, a large number of families became impoverished by expenditures in health care and drugs. The reform was designed to correct this paradox by introducing a new scheme called Popular Health Insurance (Seguro Popular).

Email any questions to uaem@grove.ufl.edu