Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings LH or LabCorp recently entered into a multi-faceted collaboration agreement to expand clinical trial access in New Jersey. The company joined forces with Circuit Clinical, a physicians and clinical research professionals network, and Riverside Medical Group (RMG), a NJ-based regional medical practice.Financial terms of the deal have been kept under wraps.Deal DetailsPer the agreement, RMG's patients will be able to participate in clinical trials of new treatments and therapies within their own doctor's office. RMG has opened a dedicated research site jointly operated with Circuit Clinical. LabCorp, which is the primary reference laboratory for RMG, will help identify clinical trials for which RMG patients are eligible. Precisely, all the three entities will jointly work for fast enrollment of patients in the trials being managed by LabCorp's Covance drug development business unit. Covance conducts clinical trials for biopharmaceutical and medical device companies. This in a way is expected to help accelerate the development of new medicines in multiple areas, including oncology and many other acute and chronic conditions.Deal Benefits for LabCorpThe collaboration with RMG, which is a leading medical practice in New Jersey, with 96 locations that service more than 350,000 patients annually, is expected to broaden LabCorp’s existing client network to a significant extent. LabCorp’s Patient Direct offering will be used, which will help in bringing suitable clinical trials to eligible patients directly.Covance UpdatesThis business has been benefiting from collaborations on potential antivirals, treatments and vaccines with leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Of late, LabCorp is enhancing Covance's offerings through strategic acquisitions. The acquisition of MI Bioresearch is expected to create an opportunity for Covance to move from preclinical to clinical development. We are also optimistic about the company’s plans to acquire Regulatory and Clinical Research Institute (RCRI), a device-focused Contract Research Organization (CRO) with strong regulatory consulting expertise.In terms of COVID-19 related support, among Covance’s collaborations, the alliance with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics to test an antiviral drug is significant. Further, the Covance business is also working with companies like Adaptive Biotechnologies and Microsoft to focus on immune response to the coronavirus. Separately, it is also working with Pacific Bioscience on unique research programs on virus characteristics that can support patient treatment decisions. Meanwhile, the company launched its patient registry which Ciox Health that will enable researchers to better understand and characterize COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment and generate the insights that will aid ongoing and future pandemic preparedness and prevention efforts.Price PerformanceShares of the company have gained 13.2% in the past year compared with the industry’s rise of 9.7%.Zacks Rank & Other Key PicksCurrently, LabCorp sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).A few other top-ranked stocks from the broader medical space are ResMed Inc. RMD, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. TMO and Align Technology, Inc. ALGN.ResMed’s long-term earnings growth rate is estimated at 14.5%. The company presently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Thermo Fisher’s long-term earnings growth rate is estimated at 18%. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.Align Technology’s long-term earnings growth rate is estimated at 18.3%. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.Just Released: Zacks’ 7 Best Stocks for TodayExperts extracted 7 stocks from the list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys that has beaten the market more than 2X over with a stunning average gain of +24.4% per year.These 7 were selected because of their superior potential for immediate breakout.See these time-sensitive tickers now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report ResMed Inc. (RMD): Free Stock Analysis Report Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LH): Free Stock Analysis Report Align Technology, Inc. (ALGN): Free Stock Analysis Report Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research