Asan Medical Centre fast-tracks trials in SK with new digital signing system

It provides identity verification through signer email authentication.

Asan Medical Centre’s Clinical Trial Centre has introduced an electronic signature system for clinical trial agreements with global pharmaceutical companies to accelerate study initiation.

In  a press release, Asan said it also aims to enhance its research competitiveness and expand opportunities to participate in innovative drug development research.

The system provides identity verification through signer email authentication and offers an audit trail function that automatically records signing times, IP addresses, and authentication histories.

As every step of the contract process is digitally documented and protected against tampering, the hospital said the system strengthens document integrity and security.

Recently, the centre signed clinical trial agreements with biopharmaceutical companies, including Gilead Sciences, Roche, and GSK, using the electronic signature system.

This marks the first case in South Korea's hospital sector in which a hospital president's electronic signature has been applied to clinical trial agreements.

The report noted that in recent years, demand for electronic signatures to expedite contract execution has steadily increased amongst healthcare institutions and hospital investigators.