North Dakota State students in need of extra cash are turning to Novum Pharmaceutical Research Services.
Novum is a contract research organization contracted by pharmaceutical research companies to conduct clinical research studies.
The company has been in operation for 40 years and opened its location in Fargo during the fall of 2013.
Public response and recruitment to date has been successful.
“Since our first study back in November 2013, we have had over 10,000 participants come through our doors and have paid out more than $4.6 million dollars to study participants who have dedicated their time to helping Novum become a leader in the community,” Mike Hellman, the associate director of clinical operations at Novum, said.
College students in particular have shown their willingness to participate. The college student demographic is the fastest growing in Novum’s participant database.
The company attributes this to “non-invasive type studies” and the prospect of a quick turnaround to “get paid.”
NDSU student Clare Reinhardt, who has worked with Novum, said participation was worth the money. “Do it with friends and bring lots of homework.”
As few as 36 hours may be enough for a student to be paid for participation and will experience minimal interruption of daily activities.
NDSU student Morgan Bruhn has done three Novum skin studies this past year. “I think Novum is a very professional organization. They have a very friendly staff and it’s an easy way to make money as a college student without the time commitment of a full/part time job.”
Time commitment will vary depending on the study. Screening may take 1 to 2.5 hours, study-confinement studies 34 to 38 hours and outpatient time could be 45 minutes to 1.5 hours per visit.
“Inpatient or outpatient, weekday or weekend, with blood draws or without blood draws, smoking or nonsmoking, on meds or no meds,” were named by Hellman as examples of the variety of types of studies offered by Novum.
Those interested in participating may contact the recruiting department at Novum, visit gonovum.com, stop in to talk with a recruiter or follow the company on Facebook.
Novum now offers a VIP program, which allows participants to receive a punch for each completed study and redeem punches for a prize and/or additional cash.