Smarter, Faster, and More Secure: Rethinking Clinical Trial Onboarding

Why Secure Access Matters in Life Sciences Collaboration 

In the life sciences sector, partnerships build clinical trials. Sponsors, CROs, research sites, and other collaborators must work together seamlessly to advance drug development and accelerate time to market. 

But collaboration introduces complexity, especially when external users need access to clinical systems and sensitive information. 

In today’s fast-paced research environment, study start-up delays often have less to do with science and more to do with access. Managing multiple credentials, inconsistent onboarding processes, and manual approvals can slow progress and frustrate partners. 

From research coordinators and data managers to investigators and site personnel, collaborators often require fast access to study portals, regulatory platforms, and communication tools. The sooner they get access, the sooner the study can begin. 

Unfortunately, many organizations still rely on manual spreadsheets, which complicate onboarding and increase the risk of security issues. 

The key for modern clinical trials is not just speed; it is secure, verified access from the start. 

The Hidden Risk in Rushing Onboarding 

Most sponsors have hardened their internal systems. They control, audit, and link employee access to corporate credentials. However, onboarding teams often use manual processes, shared passwords, and minimal identity verification when onboarding external users who play critical roles in running  study. 

Clinical teams may issue credentials via email, relying on spreadsheets to track who has access to what. Some users may have logins on multiple platforms for various studies. Others may never have their access revoked after a study closes or their role changes. 

These gaps aren’t just inefficiencies, they represent audit and compliance exposure that can ripple across studies and regions. 

They also lead to onboarding delays and force teams to spend time managing credentials, authorizations, and passwords rather than focusing on research. 

Without centralized identity controls, sponsors face challenges such as: 

• Unauthorized access to trial data or documents 
• Delays in study startup due to IT bottlenecks 
• Difficulty demonstrating compliance during audits or inspections 
• Increased exposure to privacy, regulatory, and cybersecurity threats 

And in today’s highly regulated environment, governed by HIPAA, GDPR, 21 CFR Part 11, and more, these risks aren’t just theoretical. 

What Secure Clinical Onboarding Should Look Like 

The solution isn’t to slow onboarding down. The solution is to streamline it with smart, secure identity and access management from the start. 

When done right, onboarding becomes an enabler, not an obstacle. Modern identity management accelerates access while preserving security and compliance oversight. 

Secure onboarding includes several critical elements: 

Verified Identity Before Access 

Before providing credentials, the system must confirm the identity of any collaborator. Whether through a federated login, identity proofing, or validated organizational affiliation, sponsors need confidence that the right person is requesting access. 

Role-Based Access Controls 

Not every user needs access to everything. Study portals, data systems, and documents should be segmented by project, role, and organization. A site user working on Study A should not see information for Study B. Minimizing access reduces risk and supports compliance. 

Single Sign-On and Federated Login 

Site users often work with multiple sponsors. Asking them to manage separate logins for every platform invites password reuse, frustration, and risk. Life Sciences ecosystems benefit from a federated model built around a single trusted identity, such as the credentialing framework delivered through Exostar’s Secure Access Manager, allowing users to log in once through their organization or a verified community credential to securely access all approved applications. 

Why Secure Access Should Be the Standard 

Strong onboarding practices don’t just protect systems; they protect partnerships. 

When sponsors prioritize secure, user-friendly access management, they signal to clinical sites and CROs that collaboration matters. They also position themselves for smoother audits, faster study startups, and reduced IT burden. 

Secure access enables: 

• Faster site readiness 
• Lower compliance risk 
• Fewer credential issues due to federated access 
• Improved partner satisfaction 

Most importantly, secure access earns trust, from regulators, collaborators, and internal stakeholders alike. 

A Real-World Example: Faster Onboarding, Better Security 

One global pharmaceutical company known for its work in chronic and rare disease research faced challenges onboarding research partners for clinical studies. Their team relied on spreadsheets to manage user credentials and manually provisioned access across clinical applications. 

The result: slower study startup, overextended IT teams, and rising concerns about password management and regulatory risk. 

By adopting Exostar’s Secure Access Manager, they transformed their onboarding model: 

• User verification was tied to existing partner relationships, ensuring validated access approval 
• Federated access allowed site users to use existing credentials 
• Governance controls defined system access, supported by centralized reporting and audit logs 

The impact was significant. Within weeks, the sponsor saw measurable improvement in activation timelines and site satisfaction. The new model demonstrated that speed and security can, when designed properly, work together. 

Exostar’s Secure Access Manager (SAM): Built for Life Sciences 

Exostar’s Secure Access Manager (SAM) was built specifically to solve these onboarding challenges for the life sciences industry, particularly organizations managing multi-study collaborations across distributed research teams. 

With SAM, sponsors and CROs can streamline user onboarding while enhancing security and compliance. SAM helps build trust across the Exostar Life Sciences Community, connecting more than 850,000 users globally in a shared, secure ecosystem designed for collaboration. 

The platform provides: 

Centralized Identity Management
SAM ensures every account belongs to a verified individual. Organizations can use federated credentials, smart credentials/2FA, or other trusted digital identities. 

Single Sign-On Across Systems

Users log in once and access multiple study-related applications without juggling passwords, improving user experience and reducing IT overhead. 

Role-Scoped Access with Expiration

Permissions are tied to the user’s study, role, and organization, and can be automatically revoked when the project ends or if the user becomes inactive. 

SAM is part of Exostar’s broader vision for Life Sciences: secure, connected readiness across the research lifecycle, from recruitment through study execution. 

Start Strong with Secure Access 

In clinical research, every moment counts. But rushing supplier or partner onboarding without security introduces long-term risk. 

By implementing tools like Exostar’s Secure Access Manager, sponsors can strike the right balance, enabling rapid collaboration while maintaining strong identity controls, streamlined access, and audit-ready compliance. 

The result: faster study activation, reduced technology burden for sites, and stronger compliance posture across the trial network. 

Faster studies. Stronger security. Smarter collaboration. 

Learn how SAM supports faster, safer clinical research collaboration. Contact our experts today to set up a demo and get more information.