Blood money
Quick cash for weekend stay at PRACS attracts college students
During a two-weekend study, Jason Meyer’s blood was drawn 52 times.
Meyer, a junior in mechanical engineering, said the convenience and cash of participating in PRACS research keeps bringing him back, though.
“ I can go to school full time and do PRACS studies on the weekend,” he said.
PRACS is a pharmaceutical research company, based in Fargo, that conducts clinical studies with paid volunteers.
College-aged students constitute the largest group of participants in studies, Anthony Godfrey, director of clinical research, said.
In Fargo-Moorhead, an area with more than 20,000 college students, that means an abundant supply of willing volunteers for the company.
In April, PRACS announced a $20 million addition at its Fargo site, and it recently announced its partnership with two private investment firms in a plan that includes expanding to other countries.
“ At some point in time, we’re going to outgrow the Red River Valley, and that’s the point in bringing in investors,” James Carlson, PRACS founder, told The Associated Press. “We will not leave the Red River Valley … it’s taken us 22 years to build this. We just can’t pick that up and move it.”
Meyer, who has done five PRACS studies in the past two years, said getting money for taking pills, giving blood and studying seems easy, but it is not always pain free.
“ There are side effects,” Meyer said. “One time I had a headache that was easily the worst headache I’ve ever had, and they gave me some pain killers.”
All medications have side effects, and at PRACS, rarely are the side effects serious, Godfrey said. No matter what happens, PRACS staff monitor and record anything that happens to the participants for a minimum of 24 hours.
“If you were to get a prescription from your doctor, typically, you’ll go the pharmacist, fill it and leave the pharmacy and go home and take it. We’re going to give a single dose of the medication, and we’ve got 24-hour observation of the person,” Godfrey said.
For safety reasons, PRACS mandates 30 days between studies for participants.
“ The most anyone could do in a year is five,” Godfrey said.
PRACS isn’t paying college students to test drugs for no reason — the company’s focus is comparing generic drugs to name brand drugs. Part of the reason for this is to get generic drugs approved so consumers can pay for drugs at lower costs. PRACS also compares the drugs to show equivalence.
In addition, PRACS tests drugs for many different ailments, including high blood pressure, hypertension, attention deficit disorder, sleep disorders and dermatological therapies.
Before being approved to participate in a PRACS study, potential participants are screened and registered. PRACS requires an in-depth medical history to ensure participants are over the age of 18, are healthy and they understand the ramifications of agreeing to participate in a study.
While most of the time studies require non-smoking, healthy individuals, sometimes exceptions are made for a drug that treats arthritis or something pertaining to smoking.
“ For most studies, we’re looking for healthy participants who don’t smoke and who are not on any other medications to reduce any variables that we can,” Godfrey said.
While doing a study at PRACS, participants are not allowed to take any other medication seven days prior to or during their stay. The regulation is meant to ensure the drugs don’t react to each other, as well as ensure the accuracy of the results.
“ It’s as safe as we can make it,” Godfrey said.