Parexel has announced a strategic collaboration with Synexa Life Sciences, a world-leading expert in biomarker and bioanalytical science based in South Holland, and Drawbridge Health, founded in by GE Ventures and GE Healthcare, focused on delivering comprehensive solutions for COVID-19 clinical serology testing. The tripartite collaboration will provide a more streamlined solution for blood sample collection and serology testing for accurate clinical decision-making and improved patient outcomes.

Synexa, which has developed a suite of high-performance clinical assays assessing antibodies indicating prior infection or conferring immunity to COVID-19 infection, has identified the OneDraw™ Blood Collection Device by Drawbridge Health as a leading patient-centric, remote sample collection approach for obtaining high-quality blood samples that are stabilised and can be easily shipped for assay analysis. Parexel will offer Synexa Life Sciences’ serology test and Drawbridge Health’s OneDraw™ Blood Collection Device to customers as part of the company’s more than 125 ongoing COVID-19-related clinical trials and projects.

“Our strategic collaboration with Synexa and Drawbridge Health will enable Parexel to significantly improve the clinical trial experience for our patients participating in pivotal COVID-19 clinical trials,” said Sy Pretorius, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical & Scientific Officer, Parexel. “Remote sample collection for serology testing removes the various obstacles of in-person collection and improves accessibility for patients in need.”

The strategic collaboration comes at a time when data-driven clinical research and accurate population health information are imperative in the management of COVID-19 and in the event of  future pandemics.

Paul O’Riordan, CEO, Synexa Life Sciences said, “The OneDraw Blood Collection Device has worked very well with our panel of COVID-19 antibody assays, opening up the opportunity for large-scale distributed sampling in clinical trial or sero-prevalence studies.”

“Providing solutions for antibody testing in support of clinical trials and ongoing sero-surveillance studies for COVID-19 is a timely and important step for Drawbridge,” said Lee McCracken, CEO of Drawbridge Health.