ideaPoint, a provider of partnering and collaboration systems for global enterprises, has announced the availability of a new portal providing a secure system for researchers to request access to anonymized, patient-level clinical trial data provided by sponsors (clinicalstudydatarequest.com). Study sponsors who have committed to provide data through the site currently include Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, Roche, Sanofi and ViiV Healthcare.

With experience providing online collaboration solutions for global companies, ideaPoint powers the technology behind the new site's secure request and evaluation process.

As researchers continue to search for treatments and cures to some of society's biggest medical challenges, the opportunity to seek scientific insights that may lead to potential improvements in patient care by conducting further research with clinical trial data has been universally recognized. For the first time, researchers can select studies of interest from multiple sponsors across multiple disease areas and submit a single research proposal through a user-friendly portal. Research proposals to access data are reviewed by an Independent Review Panel who decides whether access should be provided. The panel reviews the proposed science, publication plans, conflicts of interest and the qualifications of the research team. Those involved in this initiative envision transitioning administration and review of future proposals to an independent third party as soon as possible. The site includes easy-to-follow videos and guides on how to use the portal and submit a proposal.

In addition to research proposals to request data from clinical trials already listed on the site, researchers also can submit inquiries to some study sponsors to ask about the availability of data from studies not yet listed. Following approval by the Independent Review Panel, researchers are asked to sign a Data Sharing Agreement. A summary of the requirements in this agreement and an agreement template are provided on the site.

"The design and development of this user-friendly site is an outgrowth of our collaboration and partnering software. Supporting this need was a natural expansion of our work with life science, academic and nonprofit organizations," said Scott Shaunessy, CEO and founder of ideaPoint. "Our solution is highly configurable and will allow the functionality to expand as the initiative matures over time."

The portal currently lists multiple studies available from the sponsor organizations. It has been designed with a flexible configuration so that other industry, academic and nonprofit sponsors can join and include their studies.

ideaPoint and the sponsors who have committed to the site believe this is an important step toward providing greater access to patient-level data in support of biomedical research, and look forward to continued and expanded collaboration within the research community as this initiative evolves over time.