ABU DHABI — Abu Dhabi-based G42 Healthcare has announced a volunteer healthcare management program with Boston-based wearable technology firm WHOOP. The partnership will offer volunteers participating in the world’s first Phase III trials of an COVID-19 vaccine the opportunity to benefit from a 24/7 fitness and health monitor to measure key biometrics. This is the first trial of its kind to feature wearable technology and will include thousands of volunteers who are participating in the trials.

The Whoop4Humanity initiative ensures that volunteers who now join the clinical trials at ADNEC in Abu Dhabi and the Al Qarain Center in Sharjah, including those coming in for the second dose, can further enhance their volunteer journey by using the new wearable devices which will enable them to check their daily heart rate, respiratory rate, heart rate variability, sleep performance, and more.

Commenting on the new partnership, G42 Healthcare CEO Ashish Koshy said: “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 that will enhance their individual volunteer experience.

“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.”

G42 Healthcare believes that WHOOP 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. WHOOP provides valuable insights and actionable feedback around specific markers, thus encouraging better decision making for volunteers’ health.

“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 track their daily fitness levels. This partnership represents the future of healthcare: using continuous monitoring and artificial intelligence to better understand the effect of drugs, vaccines, and other treatments.”

WHOOP uniquely blends hardware, software, and industry-leading accurate measurements to help people sharpen the edges of performance, create impactful behavior change and a new set of positive individual habits, and empower them to optimize all facets of life.

The trials began in Abu Dhabi on July 16 and are being managed by G4 Healthcare in partnership with the Department of Health - Abu Dhabi, the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) and Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA). They are being conducted following the international guidelines stipulated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA).

The Phase III clinical trials follow the success of the Phase I and Phase II trials conducted by Sinopharm in China, which resulted in 100% of the volunteers generating antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, after two doses in 28 days. The Phase III 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. — SG