PPD has reached out to clinical trial software provider Cisys LifeSciences to get its hands on technology the company believes can improve the process by which investigators examine and adjudicate safety events.
Cisys' software, called Sequence WebEAS, is designed to automatically capture all of the documents and data needed to evaluate a clinical trial event--like, for instance, a heart attack in a cardiovascular study. That reduces the administrative burden on trial-runners, PPD said, freeing up investigators to focus on the safety issues at hand instead of juggling paperwork.
Under the agreement, PPD will implement Sequence WebEAS into its processes, offering the software to its client roster of some of the world's biggest drugmakers.
"This new system will improve the overall quality of the adjudication process by providing a consistent automated approach to event identification and management," PPD pharmacovigilance Vice President Cindy Elko-Simm said in a statement. "In addition, it will help reduce costs associated with overall project management and data reconciliation by having all adjudication activities and documents captured in one system."
The partnership is the latest in a string of moves through which the privately held PPD is working to expand its presence on the global market for R&D. Late last year, the CRO partnered with the data collection experts at ERT, and, in September, PPD bought out the discovery-focused outfit X-Chem in an acquisition designed to bolster its early-stage capacity. In 2013, the CRO acquired technology provider Acurian to better focus on clinical trial enrollment and retention services.
- read the statement