TransCelerate BioPharma has selected Cognizant to develop a first-of-its-kind, subscription-based platform to transform the way clinical sites collaborate with pharmaceutical companies on clinical trials.

TransCelerate, a nonprofit organization with membership representation from 19 major pharma companies, is dedicated to making the R&D process more efficient across the industry.                        

The Shared Investigator Platform, which will be built as an “industry utility,” will enable the pharma industry to bring standardization and consistency to clinical trials. Investigator platforms often are deployed by each pharma company, resulting in sites using multiple environments, introducing complexity and risk. By bringing together sites and sponsors across the world on a common platform, pharma companies can run clinical trials more efficiently and accelerate the development of new medicines.

The new platform will enhance organizational productivity by providing investigators and site staff with a central, single access point to clinical trial information, enhancing accuracy and reducing study start-up time. It also will help pharma companies improve quality, regulatory compliance, process visibility and capacity, while reducing investigator efforts in training, document exchange and support. In the future, the platform may provide regulators with an efficient electronic audit process and better insight into clinical trials.

"This collaboration is an important part of TransCelerate's strategy to improve clinical trial processes in order to bring innovative new medicines to patients faster," said Jackie Kent, senior director, clinical development information and optimization, Eli Lilly, and Shared Investigator Platform leader, TransCelerate. "The Shared Investigator Platform will benefit sites by simplifying processes and reducing time and effort spent on standard study activities. TransCelerate conducted a comprehensive selection process for this initiative and Cognizant provided the key attributes required for this unique partnership. We anticipate an overall improvement in the quality of studies and the data generated from the Shared Investigator Platform initiative."

"We are pleased to partner with TransCelerate to build this first-of-a-kind platform," said Bhaskar Sambasivan, vice president of Cognizant's life sciences practice. "Streamlining the clinical trials process will enable TransCelerate's member companies to not only speed up drug development, but also drive innovation in improving patient health. We are making a significant commitment and investment in this strategic relationship and will leverage our industry expertise and technology capabilities to ensure the proprietary platform delivers optimal value. We will also seek input from end-users to continually enhance the platform."

Membership in TransCelerate is open to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies with R&D operations.