Summa Health opens clinical trial center

Summa Health System has opened a 3,800-square-foot center for clinical research trials on its main campus in Akron.

The center features four exams rooms, a waiting room, office space and a laboratory with a centrifuge and freezers, according to a statement from Summa.

The center will support investigator-initiated and industry-sponsored clinical trials. About 400 clinical trials are underway at the health system in areas such as women’s health, infectious disease and cardiology, according to the statement.

“For our clinical researchers, the center provides additional support such as trained medical and research staffs as well as supplies to meet the needs of individual studies, patient screening and enrollment, data management and processing of samples,” said Steven Schmidt, Summa’s vice president of clinical research and innovation.

ClinicalTrials.gov, a site sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, lists 8,495 clinical trials in Ohio. That places the state among the Top 10 in the nation for clinical trials, with California coming in at No. 1. Of the trials listed in Ohio, 3,837 are active, an increase of about 3 percent compared with last year, according to economic development group BioOhio.