SAFE-BioPharma Announces Fast, Innovative Identity Proofing Procedure
FT. LEE, N.J. --(Business Wire)—SAFE-BioPharma Association today announced the launch of an innovative, simple, and exceptionally fast procedure for identity proofing and authenticating individuals being equipped with medium assurance digital certificates. The procedure, which utilizes knowledge-based assessment tests based on publicly available information, takes less than 20 minutes, and is faster than any other approach used in any industry.
"When busy medical clinicians, business partners, and other collaborators in the extensive pharmaceutical and healthcare communities are registering for a digital certificate, speed, simplicity, and accuracy are extremely important," said Mollie Shields-Uehling, CEO and president, SAFE-BioPharma Association, the non-profit consortium of major pharmaceutical companies that created and manages the SAFE-BioPharma™ digital identity and signature standard.
The newly available procedure applies to external collaborators, the thousands of clinical researchers, suppliers, business partners, and other external collaborators with whom biopharmaceutical and healthcare companies must communicate in a secure and trusted environment. Once the individual's identity is verified, it is bound to a SAFE-BioPharma digital certificate. Individuals provisioned with the SAFE-BioPharma digital certificate are able to sign documents digitally.
Digital signing using the SAFE-BioPharma standard streamlines business processes by eliminating the need for paper copies and/or back-up and the costs and complications associated with managing paper archives. It also makes audits and compliance easier. SAFE-BioPharma digital signatures are used to sign many forms, contracts and other documents. These digital signatures are legally binding and are accepted by numerous regulatory agencies.
The SAFE-BioPharma standard also facilitates interoperability, one of the most vexing information technology problems facing the biopharmaceutical and healthcare industries, where generations of pre-existing systems often have difficulty communicating with each other in a secure and seamless manner.
Importantly, SAFE-BioPharma's link to the Federal Bridge Certificate Authority is the first and only "trust network" between the biopharmaceutical industry, the healthcare industry, and federal agencies. A trust network allows sensitive and confidential information to be transmitted and trusted by its participants. Similar such trust networks exist in other regulated industries.
Documents signed with SAFE-BioPharma digital signatures are cryptographically guaranteed. If any future alteration is made to the signed document, the change is immediately evident.
About SAFE-BioPharma Association
SAFE-BioPharma Association is the non-profit association that created and manages the SAFE-BioPharma™ digital identity and signature standard for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. The SAFE-BioPharma industry standard is used to mitigate legal, regulatory and other business risk associated with business-to-business and business-to-regulator electronic transactions. It facilitates interoperability by providing a secure, enforceable, and regulatory-compliant way to verify identities of parties involved in electronic transactions. SAFE-BioPharma's vision is to be a catalyst in transforming the biopharmaceutical and healthcare communities to a fully electronic business environment by 2012. The Association's members include Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN), AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN), Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY), Genzyme (NASDAQ: GENZ), GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Merck (NYSE:MRK), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Roche and Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE:SNY). For more information, visit www.safe-biopharma.org.
SAFE-BioPharma is a trademark of SAFE-BioPharma Association. Any use of this trademark requires approval from SAFE-BioPharma Association.
Copyright 2008 Business Wire All Rights Reserved.