Modern Data Platform Strategies That Accelerate Clinical Development

By Celina Marino, Senior Director, Digital Platform and Architecture, PPD clinical research business of Thermo Fisher Scientific

Clinical trials generate massive volumes of complex, fast-moving data from diverse sources, yet many organizations still rely on outdated, fragmented systems that make it difficult to trust, interpret, and act on this information quickly. These legacy environments slow ingestion, create inconsistent definitions, and erode confidence when different data products yield conflicting results. Without strong governance and master data management, quality issues proliferate, compliance becomes harder to demonstrate, and operational timelines and costs increase. A modern data platform addresses these challenges by centralizing data, standardizing its structure, and providing a single source of truth supported by robust governance, quality controls, and flexible ingestion pipelines. Implementing such a platform requires clear vision, well-defined requirements, and the right mix of internal ownership and partner expertise.

Organizations must balance broad engagement with focused work by subject matter experts, clarify misconceptions about what a platform truly is, and overcome resistance to upfront investment by highlighting long-term gains in efficiency and compliance. Ultimately, modern data platforms transform data from a bottleneck into a strategic asset, enabling faster insights, greater agility, and stronger regulatory readiness.