Thermo Fisher Scientific, Matrix Clinical Trials Enhance Research Solutions

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. and Matrix Clinical Trials are teaming up to bolster study participation.

Thermo Fisher’s PPD clinical research arm and Matrix—a Matrix Medical Network offering—are working to bring a decentralized clinical trial (DCT) solution to patients. Thermo Fisher is deploying state-of-the-art Matrix mobile research sites and expert clinical staff across the United States to help identify, recruit and retain trial participants, while ensuring a positive patient experience. At the same time, the two companies are exploring opportunities to expand the collaboration to additional geographical areas.
 
Thermo Fisher’s clinical research business is the only clinical research organization (CRO) to use Matrix’s virtual principal investigator network coupled with mobile sites as a stand-alone transportable clinical trial operation. 
 
“We are proud to be a source for one of the latest clinical innovations to enhance patient-centric trial participation,” said Tim Rich, vice president, digital and decentralized solutions, clinical research, Thermo Fisher. “Mobile sites are a key component of our sought-after portfolio of hybrid and decentralized clinical trial capabilities. With Matrix’s experienced teams of clinicians and ready-to-deploy mobile sites, we are able to reach a broader range of participants, including in previously under-represented and under-served communities, without requiring them to travel to traditional investigator sites far from their homes.” 
 
Thermo Fisher’s clinical research business provides flexible decentralized trial solutions developed across multiple therapeutic areas. The goal is to increase patient diversity and access, and to improve the patient experience, resulting in time efficiencies and data quality enhancements that can help speed development timelines. These services reduce the burden for patients to participate in clinical trials, while providing customers with greater geographic reach through reduced reliance on brick-and-mortar site locations, more timely access to data, improved quality and consistency, and better patient engagement.  
 
“Matrix is very excited to partner with such an innovative CRO in the decentralized clinical trial space,” said Thad Wolfram, president of Matrix Clinical Trials. “We have been enabling decentralized clinical trials and working together since the beginning of the pandemic, using our mobile sites as a critical component to diversifying clinical trial participant populations. As we’ve seen over the last year, these innovative offerings are providing a growing benefit across varying therapeutic areas to reach underserved and geographically diverse trial populations. Our novel collaboration with Thermo Fisher strongly aligns with both organizations’ vision of advancing life-saving clinical research and improving health outcomes for study participants.”
 
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. generates roughly $40 billion in annual revenue.