{"id":235394,"date":"2025-09-17T11:19:01","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T15:19:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=235394"},"modified":"2025-09-17T11:19:28","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T15:19:28","slug":"clinical-research-center-at-uconn-health-makes-a-real-difference-in-patients-lives-and-clinical-trials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2025\/09\/clinical-research-center-at-uconn-health-makes-a-real-difference-in-patients-lives-and-clinical-trials\/","title":{"rendered":"Clinical Research Center Makes a Real Difference in Patients\u2019 Lives (and Clinical Trials)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clinical trials are a team sport \u2013 with doctors, nurses, staff, and patients all working together.<\/p>\n

The Clinical Research Center<\/a> of UConn School of Medicine and its people continue its vital work day-in and day-out nurturing time-consuming clinical trial research forward, over years and years, catapulting them finally across the finish line to bring hope and promising new therapies to patients in need.<\/p>\n

One major success is the CRC and its patients\u2019 participation in a global clinical trial leading to this August\u2019s FDA-approval of the first-drug ever for bronchiectasis. Prior to this, there were no medications to treat patients with the debilitating, chronic, inflammatory lung condition.<\/p>\n

The new once-a-day pill is called Brinsupri (brenso\u00adcatib). It\u2019s FDA-approval follows results of the global clinical trial spanning five continents with over 1,700 bronchiectasis patients published this April in the\u00a0New England Journal of Medicine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Photo
UConn’s clinical trial site principal investigator Dr. Mark Metersky directs the Center for Bronchiectasis Care at UConn Health.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Senior NEJM study author was Dr. Mark Metersky, who specializes in bronchiectasis care and is the longtime director of UConn\u2019s dedicated\u00a0Center for Bronchiectasis Care at UConn Health<\/a>. He also served on the Steering Committee for the multi-center, randomized clinical trial. Several of Metersky\u2019s patients were participants in this groundbreaking clinical trial for which he served as principal investigator for UConn\u2019s clinical trial site in the CRC for both Phase II that started in 2018 and Phase III that started in 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrinsupri (Brensocatib) is a very promising new treatment for bronchiectasis,\u201d says Metersky. \u201cThis drug will help many patients living with bronchiectasis and improve their quality of life. This medication is now providing hope for so many patients suffering with daily symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clinical trial results showed the medication targets inflammation and significantly lowers the annualized rate of exacerbations in patients while also slowing their loss of lung function. Also, nearly half of patients in the clinical trial remained exacerbation-free one year later.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrinsupri (brensocatib) is a groundbreaking treatment for\u00a0non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis\u00a0in patients aged 12 and older. This is a major advancement in respiratory care\u2014and the\u00a0Clinical Research Center played a pivotal role in the clinical trials that led to this approval,\u201d applauds Elizabeth Laska BSN, RN, CCRC, nurse manager of the Clinical Research Center at UConn.<\/p>\n