AstraZeneca ties up with IQVIA to speed up studies of COVID-19 vaccine candidate

Life sciences company IQVIA Holdings said it would collaborate with AstraZeneca Plc to speed up clinical studies of the British drugmaker’s potential COVID-19 vaccine in the United States.

The collaboration is part of the US government’s Operation Warp Speed to accelerate the development of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.

AstraZeneca is among the drugmakers farthest along in the race to develop a safe and effective vaccine for COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus. The British drugmaker has received U.S. funding of more than $1 billion to secure access to dosages.

The agreement includes an expansive study of trial participants and will use IQVIA’s virtual trial solutions that would make parts of the study remote.

Clinical trial service providers like IQVIA have seen a boost in demand for their offerings in virtual care – an area that has been slow to catch on – as the pandemic forces people to self-isolate and stay at home.