Pennington Management of Clinical Trials (PMCT) has announced that the first patients have been enrolled in a major diabetes-prevention research study. The study is sponsored by a major pharmaceutical company and is a Phase III trial.

Volunteers in California, Texas and Louisiana have signed up to be a part of the placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical study to determine the efficacy and safety of an investigational drug to prevent the onset of Type 2 diabetes in people who are at a high risk of developing the disease.

Potential study participants will reach the tens of thousands throughout the entire qualification-screening period, which ends in October. Trial participants, who are between the ages of 35 to 75, are tested for a condition known as pre-diabetes to see if they qualify. Approximately 2,100 people are expected to participate in the study.