Frontage Clinical Services, an associate of the contract research organization (CRO) Frontage Laboratories, has renovated its Secaucus, New Jersey-based site to accommodate tobacco and nicotine-related studies.
“Specialized clinical facilities are needed to control the ventilation in the areas that subjects are allowed to use combustible cigarettes or electronic nicotine delivery systems,” explained Gary Steidl, RPh, vice president, Frontage Clinical Services. “Controlling this area allows for blood samples to be collected effectively, even as the subjects continue to use the various devices.”
As part of the expansion, the company has added two dedicated negative-pressure rooms that use displacement ventilation. This enables participants to use various investigational tobacco products, including combustible cigarettes and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), as well as smoking cessation therapies, according to Frontage.
“These studies are part of addressing an important public health concern related to subjects who use tobacco and other nicotine-containing products.
“It is well known that there are significant health concerns with the use of combustible cigarettes, evaluating new ENDS products or nicotine replacement therapies can help provide alternatives to those who continue to use cigarettes,” Steidl told us.
In addition to the site expansion, Frontage Labs’ bioanalytical lab is developing an assay portfolio to evaluate tobacco-specific biomarkers of exposure and potential harm.
Additionally, the company last year acquired Concord Biosciences, a preclinical CRO located on a 20-acre campus near Cleveland, OH. The company conducts drug safety, metabolism, bioanalytical, residue and environmental fate studies.