Clinical trial supply chain specialist Yourway will collaborate with Firma Clinical Research, a provider of patient-centric home healthcare services, on delivery of supplies for decentralized trials.
The partnership is geared toward helping trials increase patient retention and compliance, and helping sponsors and CROs streamline trial management, by enabling a greater portion of a clinical trial to be conducted without a patient or personnel needing to travel to and from a site.
Under the arrangement, clinical products and equipment necessary for study operation will be sent directly to patients. Additionally, bodily samples and other items will be shipped from the patient home via courier, and in-home care will be conducted by approved providers.
Gulam Jaffer, president of Yourway, said the collaboration with Firma Clinical will continue the company’s decades-long record of serving the clinical trial industry and improving the patient experience.
“We offer direct-to-patient and direct-from-patient services globally, including shipments that require ambient to frozen temperatures and controlled substances. These services are making virtual and decentralized clinical trials possible,” Jaffer said.
Michael Woods, CEO of Firma Clinical research, said increasing patient centricity in trials is an important consideration for clinical research organizations and their partners.
“Firma is committed to the needs of patients, sponsors and healthcare professionals by providing in-home care for clinical trials that often involve investigational products,” Woods said. “Firma has completed thousands of home health visits in 45 countries, and about 40 percent include the administration of IPs."
“We take a patient-centric approach to our services and often work with advocacy groups to collect patient survey data for sponsors,” Woods added.
The partnership between Yourway and Firma Clinical Research extends through the end of 2020.
Earlier this year, Firma Clinical Research showcased its telehealth technology at the SCOPE 2020 event. There, Woods demonstrated to attendees what a virtual clinical research might look like.