NAMSA and Lexitas Pharma Services have entered into a strategic partnership aimed at delivering integrated development services for ophthalmic medical devices, positioning themselves as a unified provider across the full product lifecycle. Announced on April 30, 2026, the collaboration is designed to provide sponsors with a single accountable partner, combining device development capabilities with specialized ophthalmic clinical expertise.
The partnership integrates Lexitas’ ophthalmology-focused strengths built over more than 15 years, including an extensive investigator network and an established reading center with NAMSA’s global MedTech development infrastructure. By aligning these capabilities, the companies intend to streamline processes for device innovators, enabling coordinated execution from early-stage development through commercialization. The model eliminates fragmented vendor structures, offering sponsors centralized oversight and continuity across each phase of development.
Rather than operating through traditional subcontracting or referral arrangements, the two organizations will function as a unified team under a shared operating framework. Lexitas’ clinical specialists, including those focused on imaging, medical monitoring, and site strategy, will be embedded within NAMSA’s program management systems. This approach is supported by a common technology platform and unified quality management processes, providing sponsors with a single point of accountability and visibility across their programs.
The NAMSA and Lexitas collaboration is structured to deliver end-to-end support spanning preclinical development, biocompatibility assessments, investigational device exemption (IDE) processes, pivotal trials, regulatory submissions, and commercialization. It also leverages Lexitas’ network of more than 700 investigator sites and specialized programs such as BCVA certification. Combined with NAMSA’s expertise in device-specific trial design, regulatory strategy, and global CRO operations across the U.S., Europe, and Asia-Pacific, the partnership aims to enhance execution efficiency and reduce coordination risks for sponsors developing ophthalmic technologies.
In a statement, Brian Smith, Chief Executive Officer, NAMSA, said: “Ophthalmic device sponsors have asked us for something the market hasn’t been able to deliver in a coordinated way: deep device-specific expertise across the full development lifecycle, paired with specialized ophthalmic clinical execution. This partnership with Lexitas allows us to offer exactly that. NAMSA brings the end-to-end development platform ophthalmic device innovators’ need Lexitas brings the unparalleled ophthalmic expertise depth that elevates the clinical stage. Together, we’re giving sponsors a rare combination: world-class device development under one contract, with the ophthalmic specialization to execute at the highest level.”
Jeanne Hecht, Chief Executive Officer, Lexitas, added: “NAMSA’s global MedTech development platform is a powerful complement to what Lexitas has built in ophthalmology. By embedding our ophthalmic experts across site strategy, imaging, and medical oversight within NAMSA’s operating model, the partnership enables sponsors to execute highly specialized ophthalmic trials with greater confidence and consistency. Together, NAMSA’s medical device expertise and Lexitas’ ophthalmology focus deliver a truly integrated approach that drives value for sponsors and meaningful impact for patients.”
