IPS Research joins SAFE-BioPharma Association

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May 28 2010

IPS Research Company, a major southwest clinical research investigator site located in Oklahoma City, OK, has joined SAFE-BioPharma Association and taken another step in the process of eliminating paper copies from its operations.

“Being the world's first investigator site to join SAFE-BioPharma demonstrates how IPS is trail-blazing in its steps to become fully paperless. We welcome them to the growing global community of organizations using the SAFE-BioPharma standard and anticipate that other research sites soon will follow”

The association manages SAFE-BioPharma®, the industry standard developed to transition the biopharmaceutical and healthcare communities to paperless environments. The SAFE-BioPharma standard is used to verify and manage digital identities involved in electronic transactions and to apply digital signatures to electronic documents.

IPS, which conducts Phase I-IV inpatient and outpatient clinical trials in neuroscience, cardiovascular, endocrinology and respiratory, is the first investigator site member of the non-profit global consortium.

"IPS generally has 20-30 trials being conducted at any given time. Each trial requires a legally enforceable signed contract with the sponsor company. As a member, we can apply SAFE-BioPharma digital signatures to contracts and other documents. The unique characteristics of SAFE-BioPharma digital signatures eliminate the need to make paper copies and the cost and time to ship them, store them and, if needed, locate them," explained Aaron J. Harned, chief operating officer and chief financial officer, IPS Research Company.

"Being the world's first investigator site to join SAFE-BioPharma demonstrates how IPS is trail-blazing in its steps to become fully paperless. We welcome them to the growing global community of organizations using the SAFE-BioPharma standard and anticipate that other research sites soon will follow," said Mollie Shields-Uehling, president and CEO, SAFE-BioPharma Association.

SAFE-BioPharma was developed by a consortium of biopharmaceutical and related companies, with participation from the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency. www.safe-biopharma.org

Association members include: