Parexel International, a global biopharmaceutical services organization, and Microsoft announced a technology development alliance aimed at driving innovation across the life sciences industry with technology powered by Microsoft Azure.

The collaboration between Parexel and Microsoft is designed to help the industry accelerate drug development and bring new therapies to patients sooner. The companies will combine Microsoft’s global cloud infrastructure, intelligent services, and research and development capabilities with Parexel’s global presence and its clinical and regulatory technology domain expertise.

The wide-ranging partnership will be initially focused on moving Parexel Informatics technology and services onto Microsoft Azure, making it the preferred secure cloud platform for Parexel’s technology offerings. Parexel and Microsoft will also jointly develop innovative, patient-centric technologies and cloud-based services to support clinical research and market access for global life science clients. Specifically, the companies aim to develop solutions to enhance patient engagement and make participation in clinical trials more accessible. In addition, the alliance will seek opportunities to help the industry deliver on the promise of precision medicine.

“Technology is disrupting the established model of research and development in health care,” said Xavier Flinois, president, Parexel Informatics. “Drug development is becoming more complex, while innovations including social media, analytics, mobile technology and the Internet of Things are enabling a more patient-centric approach. In combination, Microsoft’s leading innovations and commitment to security and regulatory compliance, along with Parexel’s industry expertise, will allow us to bring accelerated drug delivery timelines and improved patient engagement to the industry.”

“We’re delighted to be partnering with Parexel to unlock the opportunities of digital transformation for the life sciences industry,” said Peggy Johnson, executive vice president, Business Development at Microsoft. “By combining the global scale and intelligent capabilities of Microsoft Azure with Parexel’s biopharmaceutical expertise, together we will help life science companies to accelerate the drug-development and commercialization process, all built on a foundation of trust, security and compliance with the Microsoft Cloud.”

Microsoft Azure is an open, flexible, enterprise-grade cloud computing platform and set of services. Businesses looking to digitally transform with Microsoft Azure benefit from Microsoft’s more than $1 billion investment in security research per year, an industry-leading cloud regulatory compliance portfolio, and global scale that includes 42 datacenter regions announced, more than any other cloud provider.

 Parexel Informatics provides innovative technology solutions to help optimize patient engagement, clinical and regulatory processes. The integrated solutions are designed to improve how biopharmaceutical companies perform clinical trials, control and share data, track and report patient outcomes, manage regulatory information worldwide, and capture real-world evidence for payers.