By Furhan Yacub
On Thursday, May 21, the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) hosted an online webinar to discuss COVID-19 and the impact it has had on Dietary Supplement Clinical Research. John Marshall, General Manager of Biofortis Research, was the first keynote speaker. He highlighted some challenges Biofortis and all research clinics face during the pandemic, including the inability to adhere to protocol, disrupted data, and keeping participants and staff safe and healthy.
Biofortis has responded to these challenges by modifying visits. Instead of conducting visit and questionnaire reviews in person, that is all done beforehand over the phone. Additionally, before entering the building, there is an outside check-in, where subjects have a health check, a facial covering mandate, and optional gloves and hand sanitizer. Lastly, the subject visit flow has changed to abide by social distancing.
Marshall stressed the importance of transparency during a time like this.
“Transparency at all levels…helps build trust,” said Marshall. “Trust is one of the feelings we all need to experience when conducting research during a pandemic.”
Biofortis also has a COVID-19 task force to continue to keep the company and all participants safe and healthy.