goBalto, a San Francisco, Calif.-based provider of cloud-based clinical study startup solutions, has released its latest version of goBalto Activate. The second major release of 2015 offers new features that further accelerate clinical study startup.

“There is intense pressure to speed clinical trials and restrain costs, with sponsors and CROs continuing to search for ways to automate and reduce the time it takes to get investigative sites up and running,” said Sujay Jadhav, goBalto's CEO.

“The clinical trials industry recognizes that study startup is one of the most difficult areas today resulting in delays and high costs. Our initial research in this area shows that the study startup process is very unsophisticated and inefficient,” said Ken Getz, director, Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development. “Sponsor organizations are typically struggling to identify and engage a global community of investigative sites quickly; to review and approve regulatory documentation in a timely manner; and to manage costs, resources and timelines.”

With over 2,000 pharmaceutical and CRO users in more than 60 countries using Activate to manage, track, and complete study startup tasks, goBalto has the largest industry-proven set of country workflows. goBalto’s standard ‘out-of-the-box’ country specific regulatory business process workflows allow quick site activation, leading to greater cost savings and faster market entry, making valuable therapies available to patients sooner.

Activate customers report improved business performance and a reduction in cycle times by more than 30%. New capabilities just released aim to improve project management capabilities and usability, with a focus on enhanced risk management, utilization, business process improvement, and administration. Activate’s new features include:

• Milestone re-planning indicators to improve cycle times
• Automatic/intelligent distribution of study documents
• Advanced study status management tool supporting complete clinical lifecycle
• Enhanced single sign-on (SSO) enabling streamlined integration with adjoining customer systems.