By Joseph Keenan                                                                                        

DM Clinical Research has opened the doors to its first trial site in the Boston area and will begin recruiting for Moderna’s cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine study.

Houston-based DM Clinical’s newest facility is located in the Boston suburb of Brookline and is housed in a 4,000-square-foot space that includes patient rooms, laboratory facilities, and vaccine storage and preparation rooms, the company said in a Jan. 19 press release.

“The Boston site enhances our ability to offer research sponsors access to a diverse patient footprint that already includes underserved communities in Chicago, Detroit, Houston and Philadelphia,” DM’s founder and chief executive, Mohammad Millwala said in the release.

An internal medicine specialist with more than three decades of clinical research experience, Jose Azocar, M.D., Ph.D.,was named the lead principal investigator at the Boston site, and Amy Sheets will served as regional director.

DM Clinical, which was founded in 2006, boasts 13 dedicated research centers and a network of affiliate sites.

The CMVictory trial will feature Moderna’s investigational vaccine mRNA-1647, which is designed to help the immune system protect against CMV. The virus is related to those that cause chickenpox, herpes simplex and mononucleosis.