Vial launches ophthalmology site network

Vial has officially expanded into ophthalmology with the launch of the Vial Ophthalmology network.

According to the company, its vision is to create a network of top investigators in ophthalmology enabled by the Vial platform with services ranging from sophisticated patient recruiting to CRC hiring and technology to manage operations.

The company said in a news release its goal is to be “a next generation site management organization by providing the necessary resources for clinics to run trials with faster execution and higher quality.”

When Vial partners with a specialty clinic, the company said it takes on the responsibilities of hiring CRCs to expand operations, trial acquisition by leveraging sponsor relationships, and patient recruitment via multi-channel marketing campaigns. Additionally, the Vial team is building a clinical trial tech stack backed by modern software that empowers investigators to scale their research practices.

Raj K. Maturi, MD, the first PI for Vial Ophthalmology network.

The launch of the Vial Ophthalmology network is marked by the first addition to the site network, Raj K. Maturi, MD, and his research clinic, Midwest Eye Institute in Indianapolis, Indiana.

According to the news release, Maturi and his team specialize in retina research, specifically, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, uveitis, and surgical and examination techniques. As a principal investigator Maturi has conducted numerous clinical trials sponsored by DRCR, the National Institutes of Health, and various pharmaceutical companies in an effort to advance treatment options available to patients.

“I am thrilled to be the first of many ophthalmologists to join the Vial network, and am looking forward to growing my research practice through this partnership” Maturi said of the partnership with Vial in a statement.

In addition to being a practicing board-certified ophthalmologist at Midwest Eye Institute, Maturi is also a clinical associate professor at Indiana University. He plays a role in training physicians at the university, as well as physicians in developing countries, in retinal surgery techniques.

Maturi graduated with honors from New York University School of Medicine and completed his Ophthalmology residency training at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. During his additional two-year fellowship at the University of Iowa, Maturi received the national Heed Scholar designation.

As Vial continues to expand into new therapeutic areas, the mission to run clinical trials with faster execution and higher quality to bring new therapies to market, remains at the forefront of their efforts.

The company also announced it has named Joseph Tauber, MD as its head of Ophthalmology Research.

Tauber specializes in anterior segment surgery, corneal transplantation, and the treatment of corneal and external diseases. He has been in the field for more than 32 years, and is the founder and CEO of Tauber Eye Center in Kansas City, Missouri. He has been a principal investigator in 150+ research studies of high-risk corneal transplantation, inflammation and allergic eye diseases, corneal infectious diseases and numerous studies related to dry eye syndrome, including investigator-initiated trials.

Vial, with more than 80 employees, is based in San Francisco, The company partners with dermatologists and ophthalmologists to support their research teams and has created a network of more than 35 clinics that have contributed to more than 750 trials, according to the company. The company noted that the clinic network runs trials from Phase I through Phase IV.