Wearable AI Device Monitors Key Biometrics of Volunteers in World's First Phase 3 Trials Of Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine

A fitness tracker has become the first wearable device to be used in the world's first Phase 3 trials of an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine and will be used to measure key biometrics of the volunteers.

This is the first trial of its kind to feature wearable technology and will include thousands of volunteers who are participating in the trials in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The inactivated COVID-19 vaccine has been developed by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products under the China National Biotec Group (CNBG) affiliated to the China National Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. (Sinopharm Beijing, China). The trials are as a result of a cooperation partnership between G42 Healthcare (Abu Dhabi, UAE) and Sinopharm CNBG, the world’s sixth largest vaccine manufacturer. The Phase 3 trials are open to individual volunteers aged between 18 and 60 living in the UAE and Bahrain and will last for six to 12 months, with the volunteers required to be available for follow ups during this time.

G42 Healthcare has now joined hands with wearable technology firm WHOOP (Boston, MA, USA) to launch the Whoop4Humanity initiative to ensure that volunteers who now join the clinical trials, including those coming in for the second dose, can further enhance their participation in the trails by using the new WHOOP Strap 3.0 wearable device which will enable them to check their daily heart rate, respiratory rate, heart rate variability, sleep performance, and more.

The WHOOP Strap 3.0 wearable device can be a powerful tool to boost the comprehensive volunteer healthcare management program by helping thousands of vaccine volunteers to self-monitor their well-being while measuring their fitness, sleep, and recovery levels during the trials. It provides valuable insights and actionable feedback around specific markers, thus encouraging better decision-making for volunteers' health and contributing to the trials' overall success.
“As a digital business, this new partnership is a logical extension of the highly-advanced AI and super computer solutions we are already using in the trials process. New volunteers will be invited to engage with the technology developed by WHOOP to enhance their individual volunteer experience and contribute to the advanced research involved in these sophisticated trials,” said Ashish Koshy, CEO of G42 Healthcare. “We believe that giving volunteers an opportunity to use the WHOOP Strap 3.0 wearable device will reinforce their confidence in the trial by giving them the ability to check on several daily health data points. This will complement the world-class clinical expertise that the healthcare professionals in the UAE are providing to the volunteers and ensure their safety and well-being throughout the trials process.”

“WHOOP is proud to partner with G42 Healthcare and participate in their innovative Phase III COVID-19 vaccine trial,” said Will Ahmed, WHOOP Founder & CEO. “The continuous biometric monitoring offered by WHOOP will help volunteers evaluate any changes to their health and help researchers vastly increase their understanding of the vaccine's impact. This partnership represents the future of healthcare: using continuous monitoring and artificial intelligence to better understand the effect of drugs, vaccines, and other treatments.”

Related Links:

WHOOP
G42 Healthcare
China National Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd.