How can biotech companies optimize data access while going virtual?

How can biotech companies optimize data access while going virtual?

Produced by Europa Science in conjunction with:

SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING WORLD

Virtual Data Access Challenges

There is mounting pressure for companies to ensure that non-essential personnel work from home. The challenge, of course, is to operate in a virtual capacity without sacrificing productivity – in particular for biotech companies engaging in drug discovery where timely access to data can make or break an organization.

There are three main data challenges that must be overcome:

1. Remote access

2. Real-time collaboration and sharing

3. Secure, remote access control

Fortunately, a modern software platform such as CDD Vault is built to address these pain points.

Whether engaged in collaboration with CROs or other external or internal collaboration partners, scientists around the world rely on CDD Vault to access, manage, analyze, and present data through a standard web browser. This can be hugely beneficial to scientific organizations that are trying to increase their productivity while providing a reliable environment for remote working and collaboration with external partners.

“Data were immediately visible across sites, allowing rapid communication and decision making.”
— Julia Adam, PhD, Head of Medicinal Chemistry, Mironid

Organize Structured Data for Easy Access

CDD Vault is designed to provide a secure platform that provides a single source of truth for laboratory data. Today the platform is trusted by a wide variety of scientists and researchers in biotech, pharmaceutical, chemical, personal care, and agribusiness laboratories working on-premise, or engaged in collaboration with remote partners from industry or academia.

Remote Access: A Centralized Solution

Spreadsheets were never ideal for handling scientific data, and the problem is only exacerbated by a distributed workforce. Imagine a chemist who emails a list of molecules in a spreadsheet to a biologist, who adds assay data and emails it to a data scientist, who adds statistical calculations and… very soon there will be 15 versions of the spreadsheet buried in dozens of emails.

The solution? A purpose-built scientific data management system like CDD Vault that provides a centralized data repository accessible by anyone on the project team.

“CDD easily allows us to securely collaborate, while keeping some data private, all in one system.”
— Ellen Berg, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Translational Biology, at Eurofins DiscoverX

Unstructured data can be better captured using an Electronic Laboratory Notebook (ELN).

Seamless Integration of Data and ELN Functionality

CDD Vault is a software platform designed for research with ELN functionality, data storage for chemical registration, assay data management, and SAR analysis in addition to inventory management and visualization tools. The carefully integrated software components enable users to seamlessly move between database and ELN functionality without multiple tabs or software programs.

The easy-to-use web portal provides the central point of contact for all users and collaborators. This improves access to data for both remote workers and external partners, allowing them to upload, comment, and share data in real time. This not only provides access to laboratory data and useful information relating to your research but also tools to facilitate collaboration, analysis, and reporting.

CDD Vault is a hosted solution that not only reduces costs but also increases the potential for scalability. Maintenance and support are provided, which reduces internal IT costs and provides stable and secure access to data anywhere in the world.

This helps biotech companies with no physical laboratory, or organizations that specialize in working with CROs, to meet their project goals without the burden of additional IT systems.

“I have evaluated different systems during my 25 years in the biotech industry. For us, the main factor in choosing CDD Vault was the ease of implementation – how intuitive and easy the system is to use. Sometimes you get systems that are very powerful, but only one person who is trained can use it. Most of us like systems where it’s so easy to use that it doesn’t require a big learning process to get value from it.”
— Julio Medina, PhD, CEO, R2M Pharma

Biologicals (plasmids, antibodies etc) as well as small molecules can be registered for the whole team to view.

Real-Time Collaboration

Modern approaches to data management and digitized laboratory practices can help scientists deal with the challenges presented by modern drug discovery workflows and the increasing need to collaborate quickly.

It is well known that modern drug discovery presents several challenges in ensuring efficacy and safety in humans. Getting a drug to market requires considerable time and resources, which could potentially be wasted if a drug fails to pass trials.

CDD Vault helps users to effectively manage ongoing projects in real time. This enables project managers to query and report on multiple projects with different collaboration partners. By defining what data can be accessed by specific projects and users, CDD Vault provides careful control of data access and availability.

Using CDD Vault, users can make use of real-time data monitoring and reporting. This provides a platform which promotes agile decision making as organizations can communicate fast and effectively. This is a key concept to maintaining agility when working remotely or with external collaborators. In a laboratory setting, this means being able to see data in real time so that decisions can be made swiftly. This helps project managers to react quickly to mistakes or immediately change the course of workflows or projects to better suit the organization.

The quick set-up and training also help to benefit collaboration as teams may work with several different CROs or other partners. Using CDD Vault means that time is not wasted on training, setup, and configuration. Just switch on your computer and you are ready to work. Organizations can get set up with the software in one day and require only 90 minutes of training for new users.

“We had Excel sheets all over the place and data from different projects that were just separated in different folders and after a while, it got to the point that it was just hard to manage. We chose CDD, and we’re really happy with the service and the cost and the way the database is evolving.”
— Ruo Steensma, PhD, Director of Chemistry, Orphagen Pharmaceuticals

Secure Remote Access Control

CDD Vault uses industry-standard security policies including multiple layers of firewalls and Transport Layer Security (TLS) for data in transit. In addition, the system allows organizations to control access at a granular level. This means that users can be restricted based on project, data type, or other attributes.

For organizations that operate globally or across different time zones, this ensures that data can be shared securely and efficiently across multiple sites and teams.

Using a web-based portal, users can access the system securely through a web browser, and administrators can control and monitor activity to ensure that only authorized users have access to specific projects or data.

This level of control ensures that biotech companies, CROs, and other research organizations can work together effectively, without compromising on data security or intellectual property.

Conclusion

As the biotech industry increasingly adopts virtual and remote working models, the need for secure, accessible, and collaborative data management solutions becomes more critical.

CDD Vault provides:

• A centralized data repository for both internal teams and external partners

• Real-time collaboration tools to enhance productivity and decision-making

• Secure, web-based access from anywhere, with robust access control

• Easy-to-use ELN and integrated tools for managing chemical and biological data

With CDD Vault, companies can maintain agility, improve collaboration, and ensure that their critical research data is secure and accessible—whether working from the office, home, or anywhere in the world.