Biopharma Streamlines Trial Execution with a Connected Platform
96%
decrease in UAT findings
45%
decrease in UAT production time
15%
faster eCOA build times
For growing biotech companies, clinical trial execution often relies on a network of contract research organizations (CROs). However, when multiple vendors use different systems, it leads to scattered data, tedious reconciliations, and limited visibility.
A mid-sized biopharma company faced this exact challenge as its clinical pipeline expanded. Rather than managing disparate systems, this biopharma took a proactive approach to streamline its data management and clinical operations. By establishing a strong cross-functional partnership between IT and Clinical Operations, it adopted the Veeva Clinical Platform and established a clear standard: CRO partners must work directly within the sponsor’s centralized technology.
The challenge: Disparate systems, manual reconciliation, and limited visibility
As the biopharma grew from a single outsourced trial to managing multiple complex studies, its reliance on CRO-provided technology created significant operational friction. Each CRO utilized different platforms, creating a fragmented ecosystem where data could not automatically flow or aggregate across studies.
Because systems lacked connectivity, the clinical team spent excessive time manually reconciling data across disparate spreadsheets and reports to update executive leadership. This lack of real-time data created blind spots, slowing decision-making and increasing compliance risks.
Furthermore, every study build started from scratch. Protocol amendments required costly change orders and multi-week approval cycles through CROs, creating unnecessary timeline delays. The biopharma realized that to support its growing portfolio, it needed an agile, connected, and scalable platform that offered visibility and control.
Standardizing on Veeva for connected studies
Realizing how much time and effort this repetitive setup required, especially across four to five CROs, the biopharma made the strategic decision to bring Veeva EDC, eCOA and RTSM in-house, establishing a standardized foundation for its clinical trials.
To support this transition, the company adopted a hybrid execution model and made IT and Clinical Operations equal partners in platform selection and governance. By selecting Veeva Clinical Platform, a pre-validated system, it avoided validating out-of-the-box functionalities, focusing efforts strictly on study-specific configuration changes. This streamlined approach allowed it to go live with all three applications in just three months with a plan to implement Veeva DQS, eTMF and CTMS next.
To ensure consistency across trials, the biopharma set clear expectations early in the vendor selection process. Rather than relying on CRO-provided systems, the company outlined in its Requests for Proposals (RFPs) that partners must conduct trials within its Veeva Vault environment – a requirement every CRO accepted.
By centralizing study builds, eCRFs, and data management inside Veeva EDC and Veeva DQS, the biopharma established a single source of truth. CROs now input data directly into its ecosystem, ensuring that all study data remains in-house, accessible in real time, and immediately inspection-ready without requiring post-study integrations.
Faster study builds and reduced quality findings
By establishing a standardized internal platform and requiring CRO compliance, the biopharma achieved immediate time and cost efficiencies:
Faster trial execution: By reusing pre-validated forms and edit checks across studies, the biopharma accelerated study setup and reduced user acceptance testing (UAT) deployment times
Cost and time savings: Owning the platform allows study teams to execute protocol amendments in-house in a matter of days, avoiding costly CRO change orders and multi-week delays
96% decrease in UAT findings: Reusing standardized eCRFs eliminated recurring programming errors, reducing study-specific UAT findings from 61 down to just two
45% decrease in UAT production time: Streamlined validation and testing workflows cut production times nearly in half
15% faster eCOA build times: Standardizing configurations allowed for faster setup from build start to UAT start compared to traditional eCOA vendors
Expanding the connected ecosystem for long-term scale
With a solid data management foundation in place, the biopharma is expanding its footprint across the Veeva Clinical Platform to include Veeva CTMS and Veeva eTMF. This fully connected ecosystem will ensure that visit information, enrollment data, and monitoring reports flow seamlessly across applications without manual intervention.
Even for a lean organization, tight collaboration between IT, Clinical Operations, and Quality has proven essential. By prioritizing standard functionality and native connectivity, the company established a nimble, modular platform built to scale alongside its growing pipeline.
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