NIH Clinical Center to Open State-of-the-Art Pharmaceutical Development Facility

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 Contacts:
Maggie McGuire, NIH Clincial Center
301-594-5789

Kelli Carrington, NIH Clinical Center
301-594-5798 News Advisory
NIH Clinical Center to Open State-of-the-Art Pharmaceutical Development Facility

What: Members of the media are invited to tour the new one-of-a-kind National Institutes of Health Clinical Center pharmaceutical development facility. Originally established in 1956, the resource enables NIH intramural researchers to design studies with tailored drug treatment. Facility staff manage, analyze, and create experimental medications and vaccines used in clinical research studies at the Clinical Center, NIH’s clinical research hospital.


Why: Because of manufacturing standards, the facility will not be open to the public once fully operational, this tour is being offered so that reporters can see firsthand how this drug development facility works and how it supports the early-phase clinical research studies at the NIH Clinical Center.


When: March 25, 2010, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Please RSVP to Maggie McGuire or Kelli Carrington for planning and security purposes.


Where: Pharmaceutical Development Section facility, NIH Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.
Parking information: http://parking.nih.gov/visitor_access_map.htm
Take a shuttle to the Clinical Center north entrance or walk up South Drive to the NIH Clinical Center. Once inside, look for staff and signs to direct you.


Who: Clinical Center Director Dr. John I. Gallin will welcome reporters. Pharmacy Chief Robert DeChristoforo and George Grimes, who heads the new facility, will lead the tour and provide background on operations. Additional interviews will be coordinated as requested. An NIH photographer can provide photos.


The NIH Clinical Center (CC) is the clinical research hospital for the National Institutes of Health. Through clinical research, physician-investigators translate laboratory discoveries into better treatments, therapies and interventions to improve the nation's health. For more information, visit http://clinicalcenter.nih.gov.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
http://www.nih.gov/news/health/mar2010/cc-17.htm