COVID-19 study seeks patients who have recovered from the disease to provide blood samples
Synergy Healthcare LLC, 300 Riverside Drive, Suite 1350, is seeking blood samples from patients who have recovered from COVID-19 for a research project to combat the disease.
As of Wednesday, 1,523 persons in Manatee County had tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Florida Department of Health.
“Anyone who is 18 or older and who has recovered can take part,” Dr. Patrick Weston said.
Weston, 45, an internist and cardiologist, is a co-founder and CEO of Synergy Healthcare. Before launching his company, he worked as a cardiologist for Manatee County Rural Health. He began his research career at the Duke Clinical Research Institute where he focused on cardiovascular research. He has more than 17 years of clinical research experience.
There are an estimated 1,400 studies underway related to COVID-19, he said.
Samples collected by Synergy Healthcare LLC will be sent to the MT Group of Van Nuys, Calif., for study.
“They reached out to us to see if we wanted to participate,” Weston said. “They reached out to people like us to see if we can help enroll people into their clinical trials.”
Eric Thornton, clinical manager at Synergy Healthcare LLC, said his company is involved in a number of different studies, including for diabetes and cardiology, but that with the pandemic, COVID-19 has moved to the front of the research line.
“There are a tremendous number of COVID-related studies,” Thornton said, adding that a leading question is what kind of progress are they making.
Recovered COVID-19 patients who would like to participate in the study may contact Weston’s office at 941-896-4948 or 941-676-3436.
On its web page, Synergy Healthcare LLC describes itself as providing processes and technology infrastructure for physicians to participate in ground breaking research within their existing medical practices, providing CROs (contract research organizations) and sponsors with efficient research sites, and connects patients with potentially life altering therapies at no cost to them.
“By creating the infrastructure for medical practices and hospitals to engage in clinical research and integrating our patient-centric approach to clinical development, our network of sites provides Sponsors and CROs with the clinical expertise, patient population, and dedicated support needed to complete clinical trials more efficiently and effectively. This translates into faster enrollment time, lower screen failure percentages, and fewer protocol deviations,” the company website says.
Synergy Healthcare LLC has its Bradenton office in the Riverside Medical Center, near Manatee Memorial Hospital.
For more information about Synergy Healthcare LLC, visit https://www.synergyhealthcorp.com/.
