Syneos Health Partners with Ride Health

Syneos Health formed a strategic agreement with Ride Health to provide clinical trial participants with non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT).

FREMONT, CA: Syneos Health, the first fully-integrated biopharmaceutical solutions company, formed a strategic agreement with Ride Health to provide clinical trial participants with non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT). The partnership, based on Ride Health's product integration with Syneos Health's patient engagement platform, will facilitate an efficient transportation program for Syneos Health trials in the United States to increase access, lower burden, and enhance retention for patients while also speeding clinical trial recruitment for sponsors. As part of the strategic partnership, Syneos Health made a minority investment in Ride Health.

"Our relationship with Ride Health expands our technology- and data-driven solutions platform, with a goal of improving clinical trial patient engagement, recruitment and retention," said Maria Fotiu, Executive Vice President for Decentralized Solutions Syneos Health. "When combined with IllingworthsPatientGo services, this partnership helps us bring the clinical trial closer to the patient, increasing diversity and accessibility, and further expanding our Dynamic Assembly network of preferred, best-of-breed data and technology collaborators to drive the design and execution of clinical trials."

Syneos Health's dedication towards providing patient-centric, technology-enabled solutions that enhance the entire experience of clinical trials for sponsors, sites, and patients is reinforced by this agreement. 

Syneos Health acquired Illingworth Research Group (Illingworth) in the United Kingdom in 2020 that involves PatientGo, an in-house patient concierge service that seeks to make clinical trial participation easier for patients by providing services such as ground and air transportation, overnight lodging, and expense reimbursements. PatientGo can optimize and add new efficiencies to its U.S.-based transportation operations and expedite network development using Ride Health's technology-enabled strategy and deep integration abilities, resulting in a leading integrated clinical trial platform.

Syneos Health and its trial sponsors have long recognized the value of providing transportation to patients to increase access, enrollment, and retention. Previous systems imposed a significant administrative burden on clinical trial coordinators. They were frequently restricted to a small number of transportation providers compared to the geographic and service level requirement of enrolled patients.

"We are honored to partner with an industry leader like Syneos Health to enhance access to care, improve patient centricity and ensure clinical trial participation reflects the population that these novel therapeutics aim to serve," said Imran Cronk, CEO, and Founder of Ride Health.