Sixteen students were honored for completing an inaugural Clinical Trial Project Management Program at Montgomery College’s Germantown campus.

 The 13-week, non-credit course was developed in collaboration with Amarex Clinical Research, a Germantown company. Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett was the keynote speaker at a completion ceremony Saturday.

The growing number of biotech companies in Montgomery County that managed clinical trials fueled demand for the work, sparking the idea to offer the course, according to Steve Greenfield, the dean of Business, Information Technology, & Safety in the college’s Workforce Development & Continuing Education division.

“As the number of those companies has grown, there has emerged a need for a person who over sees the clinical trials from the beginning to end,” Greenfield said.

Students who took the course had a bachelor’s degree — a prerequisite for enrollment — and typically had a background in science, health or technology, though Greenfield said a background in science or biotech wasn’t necessary to be successful.

The course would be offered again for the fall and spring semesters.