Circuit Clinical Supports First FDA Authorized COVID-19 Saliva Test, Named Finalists for Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Awards 2021: Pandemic Response
BUFFALO, NY -- June 16, 2021
Fast Company has published its list of honorees for their World Changing Ideas Awards 2021: Pandemic Response. This designation is awarded to companies that helped mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic through policies, products, services, and support. Circuit Clinical was named a finalist for this award through their work on “Project Peacock” a biospecimen collection project for COVID-19 testing.
In late February of 2020, just weeks before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, Circuit Clinical® was working on a biospecimen collection project in collaboration with Dr. Andrew Brooks of Rutgers’ RUCDR Infinite Biologics. The goal was to rapidly collect saliva and blood samples from 99 healthy volunteers. Joining several other research organizations in this effort, the samples were necessary to validate a device that can measure DNA and RNA in saliva. Ultimately the objective was to obtain FDA approval for a COVID-19 test that relies on a person's saliva, rather than using a nasopharyngeal swab.
Circuit Clinical, an integrated research organization, is focused on bringing clinical trials as a care option to diverse populations by partnering with healthcare providers. Their team delivers the necessary support services such as dedicated research staff, regulatory training, legal compliance, and business development to effectively match trials to patient populations. Their integrated approach allowed their team to quickly identify eligible volunteers for Project Peacock and efficiently collect all samples in just ten days.
The emergency use authorization of the saliva test changed the COVID-19 testing landscape. Different from the nasal and throat swabs that were commonplace at the time, saliva testing didn’t put health care workers at risk of infection while being performed. Another advantage is that saliva testing preserves personal protection equipment for hospitals and patient care.
None of the advantages of saliva testing would be possible without the data to first validate the test and obtain FDA approval. The samples were collected at the end of February, the researchers submitted their application in March, and the FDA granted emergency use authorization for the saliva test in April. According to Dr. Brooks, “The identification of control samples and the recruitment of patients to provide biomaterials is the single most difficult task in the development of any medical device or diagnostic. The services that Circuit Clinical offers are unique to this application and will quickly become the industry standard.”
Their tech-enabled approach to biospecimen collections and clinical trials is not only important for COVID-19 testing and vaccines; the same approach is being used to identify and enroll participants for a variety of other new drugs, devices, and interventions in almost every therapeutic area. Circuit Clinical’s approach streamlines the recruitment piece of the process as demonstrated by Project Peacock.
To learn more about Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas and to see the other finalists, click the link here.
About Circuit Clinical
Circuit Clinical®, one of the largest integrated research organizations in the USA, is dedicated to empowering patients to choose clinical research as a care option. Circuit Clinical® is committed to transforming the way physicians and their patients find, conduct, and participate in clinical research. They deliver clinical research services and an award-winning patient engagement platform, trialjourney.com.
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