If you work in a medical research organization, you may have slowed or paused projects because of social distancing, or you may have pivoted to accelerate work on coronavirus treatments, tests or vaccines.
If you’re a supplier of human biospecimens, you’ve probably seen a slowdown in incoming inventory since patients are avoiding hospitals, clinics and surgeries when they can. Only 14% of the sample collection sites in our global network are moving at business-as-usual pace with 57% of sites in slowed mode and 29% paused.
How we can help you
We’ve kept working (safely) to collect and move the orders that we can while searching and signing new sample provider partners to make up the difference. We’ve also put a lot of thought into how we can help prepare you to come out of the coronavirus slowdown best-prepared to rebound. Here are a few of our new initiatives:
- Direct collection. In addition to collecting samples from biobanks, clinics and health care systems, we’re embarking on direct collection through our new mobile phlebotomy lab. We’re starting with national blood collection from recovered COVID-19 patients and expanding from there. Stay tuned for details.
- Specimen reservations. Even if your research work is suspended, we can help you plan for your project’s recovery and reserve biospecimens to put you at the front of the line. Preparation for your restart will be critical, as we recently wrote, since everyone will be restarting at the same time. Unfortunately, specimen volume may be lagging – again, due to slowdown in non-COVID-19 hospitalization.
- Affordability measures. We decided that one of the best ways we could help research organizations was to lower prices on specific banked specimens. This action directly helps you extend your research dollar, fill gaps, and enhance research timelines wherever possible. We’re offering discounts of up to 20% on FFPE blocks, serum, plasma, whole blood, normal blood collections, buffy coats and PBMCs.
- Tailored customer solutions. Finally, we’re offering anytime pauses on active orders. Just let us know when you’re ready to pick up where you left off and receive your specimens. We’re also providing free biostorage of biofluids, tissue and cells during the interim.
If your organization has pivoted directly to COVID-19 work, you can see how we’re supporting you here.
How else can we help?
While your research activity may look a lot different from the way it did in January, you can still be taking actions to advance your programs. Our mission is to help you do that – however and whenever you need us.
Stay in touch, please ask for what you need, and let us help you land on your feet.
View a webinar on this topic.
Call us (781-303-9570, press 2), email us ([email protected]) or visit the iSpecimen Marketplace.
Learn about the iSpecimen Marketplace where you can browse millions of richly annotated, de-identified human tissue and biofluid biospecimens, in addition to hematopoietic and immune cell products and COVID-19 samples. You can join for free and creating a login is easy. Request a quote or custom collection today.