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Walgreens (WBA) Partners With BARDA to Boost Clinical Research
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Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA - Free Report) recently announced a strategic partnership with BARDA (Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority) as part of the D-COHRe (Decentralized Clinical Operations for Healthcare and Research) program. The first-of-its-kind collaboration, valued at up to $100 million, intends to address barriers to decentralized clinical trial access and conduct trials over five years.
Walgreens is dedicated to making decentralized clinical research models more efficient and accessible to the U.S. population during their routine healthcare journey and public health emergencies.
News in Detail
BARDA, part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, designed the D-COHRe initiative to bolster U.S. decentralized clinical research capabilities. The program aims to support the development of FDA-regulated products, enhance clinical innovation to execute more efficient and relevant clinical research and evaluate other medical countermeasures in real-world environments that may be used in a public health emergency.
The Walgreens-BARDA partnership will leverage Walgreens’ clinical trial ecosystem, which has proven to be effective in making clinical trials more accessible and representative of the U.S. population. Since its launch in 2022, it has reached more than five million patients to potentially recruit into clinical trials. The company has consistently met recruitment goals and continuously surpassed national averages for recruiting diverse clinical trial participants for its sponsor-led clinical trials.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Walgreens activates a comprehensive approach to participant recruitment, utilizing its physical footprint and decentralized clinical trial platform to engage patients and potential patients where it’s most convenient for them. This positions it as the ideal partner to help enhance decentralized clinical research to validate, pilot and implement new products, technologies and approaches for remote and/or decentralized use during a public health emergency, including immunizations, diagnostics and treatments.
Nearly 80% of trials fail to meet their enrollment goals in the stated timeframes, often contributing to billions of dollars in delays annually. With only 5% of the U.S. population participating in clinical trials, there is a clear need to increase access and representation in clinical research. Walgreens’ spokesperson expressed delight in continuing the partnership with BARDA to strengthen U.S. clinical research through a decentralized model in community pharmacies.
Industry Prospects
Based on a report by Precision Business Insights, the decentralized clinical trial market was valued at $1.68 billion in 2022 and is expected to witness a CAGR of 9.8% up to 2029.
The demand for accurate and high-quality data, reduced travel requirements and fewer time-consuming in-patient visits are the major factors driving the market growth. Moreover, the adoption of artificial intelligence tools for clinical trials is a major recent trend in the market.
Other Notable Developments
In July 2024, Walgreens was awarded a project valued at up to $25 million through the Rapid Response Partnership Vehicle, a Consortium funded by BARDA, to conduct a Phase IV observational clinical study. The study will focus on assessing Correlates of Protection, known as responses to a vaccine that predict how well a vaccinated person will be protected from future infections, using COVID-19 vaccine data.
Price Performance
In the past year, WBA shares have plunged 58.9% compared with the industry’s fall of 23.7%.
Zacks Rank and Key Picks
Walgreens currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Masimo shares have risen 10.8% in the past year. Estimates for the company’s earnings have increased from $3.63 to $3.83 in 2024 and from $3.97 to $4.20 in 2025 in the past 30 days.
MASI’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 14.6%. In the last reported quarter, it posted an earnings surprise of 11.7%.
Estimates for Boston Scientific’s 2024 earnings per share have moved to $2.40 from $2.32 in the past 30 days. Shares of the company have rallied 56% in the past year compared with the industry’s rise of 11.1%.
BSX’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 7.2%. In the last reported quarter, it delivered an earnings surprise of 6.9%.
Estimates for Myriad Genetics’ 2024 earnings have moved to 5 cents from 3 cents per share in the past 30 days. Shares of the company have improved 59.3% in the past year against the industry’s 3.1% fall.
MYGN’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 213.4%. In the last reported quarter, it delivered an earnings surprise of a staggering 600%.
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Walgreens (WBA) Partners With BARDA to Boost Clinical Research
Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA - Free Report) recently announced a strategic partnership with BARDA (Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority) as part of the D-COHRe (Decentralized Clinical Operations for Healthcare and Research) program. The first-of-its-kind collaboration, valued at up to $100 million, intends to address barriers to decentralized clinical trial access and conduct trials over five years.
Walgreens is dedicated to making decentralized clinical research models more efficient and accessible to the U.S. population during their routine healthcare journey and public health emergencies.
News in Detail
BARDA, part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, designed the D-COHRe initiative to bolster U.S. decentralized clinical research capabilities. The program aims to support the development of FDA-regulated products, enhance clinical innovation to execute more efficient and relevant clinical research and evaluate other medical countermeasures in real-world environments that may be used in a public health emergency.
The Walgreens-BARDA partnership will leverage Walgreens’ clinical trial ecosystem, which has proven to be effective in making clinical trials more accessible and representative of the U.S. population. Since its launch in 2022, it has reached more than five million patients to potentially recruit into clinical trials. The company has consistently met recruitment goals and continuously surpassed national averages for recruiting diverse clinical trial participants for its sponsor-led clinical trials.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Walgreens activates a comprehensive approach to participant recruitment, utilizing its physical footprint and decentralized clinical trial platform to engage patients and potential patients where it’s most convenient for them. This positions it as the ideal partner to help enhance decentralized clinical research to validate, pilot and implement new products, technologies and approaches for remote and/or decentralized use during a public health emergency, including immunizations, diagnostics and treatments.
Nearly 80% of trials fail to meet their enrollment goals in the stated timeframes, often contributing to billions of dollars in delays annually. With only 5% of the U.S. population participating in clinical trials, there is a clear need to increase access and representation in clinical research. Walgreens’ spokesperson expressed delight in continuing the partnership with BARDA to strengthen U.S. clinical research through a decentralized model in community pharmacies.
Industry Prospects
Based on a report by Precision Business Insights, the decentralized clinical trial market was valued at $1.68 billion in 2022 and is expected to witness a CAGR of 9.8% up to 2029.
The demand for accurate and high-quality data, reduced travel requirements and fewer time-consuming in-patient visits are the major factors driving the market growth. Moreover, the adoption of artificial intelligence tools for clinical trials is a major recent trend in the market.
Other Notable Developments
In July 2024, Walgreens was awarded a project valued at up to $25 million through the Rapid Response Partnership Vehicle, a Consortium funded by BARDA, to conduct a Phase IV observational clinical study. The study will focus on assessing Correlates of Protection, known as responses to a vaccine that predict how well a vaccinated person will be protected from future infections, using COVID-19 vaccine data.
Price Performance
In the past year, WBA shares have plunged 58.9% compared with the industry’s fall of 23.7%.
Zacks Rank and Key Picks
Walgreens currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Masimo (MASI - Free Report) , Boston Scientific (BSX - Free Report) and Myriad Genetics (MYGN - Free Report) . While Masimo sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present, Boston Scientific and Myriad Genetics each carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.
Masimo shares have risen 10.8% in the past year. Estimates for the company’s earnings have increased from $3.63 to $3.83 in 2024 and from $3.97 to $4.20 in 2025 in the past 30 days.
MASI’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 14.6%. In the last reported quarter, it posted an earnings surprise of 11.7%.
Estimates for Boston Scientific’s 2024 earnings per share have moved to $2.40 from $2.32 in the past 30 days. Shares of the company have rallied 56% in the past year compared with the industry’s rise of 11.1%.
BSX’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 7.2%. In the last reported quarter, it delivered an earnings surprise of 6.9%.
Estimates for Myriad Genetics’ 2024 earnings have moved to 5 cents from 3 cents per share in the past 30 days. Shares of the company have improved 59.3% in the past year against the industry’s 3.1% fall.
MYGN’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 213.4%. In the last reported quarter, it delivered an earnings surprise of a staggering 600%.