Annual industry savings of $200 million projected as industry implements SAFE-BioPharma digital identity

CAMBRIDGE, MASS.–CoreStreet, a leading provider of infrastructure and applications for smart credentials, announced it is one of the first providers of technology for SAFE (Signatures and Authentication for Everyone). SAFE-BioPharma Association is a global identity management coalition founded by AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, and Sanofi-Aventis.

SAFE delivers standardized identity credentials that can be used for authentication and electronic signing by the bio-pharmaceutical and healthcare providers that are members of the SAFE community. These credentials are legally enforceable and comply with industry regulations.

Cost savings from the removal of redundant identity credentials in the bio-pharmaceutical industry were conservatively estimated by SAFE to be more than $200 million per year. Current thinking within the industry is that use of digital signatures could help reduce the industry’s reliance on paper, estimated at costing the biopharmaceutical industry over $9 billion a year and the health care industry about $500 billion a year. The SAFE standard is recognized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as meeting federal requirements for Level III authentication and signatures and as being legally enforceable. The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has evaluated SAFE as meeting all pertinent requirements for EU qualified digital signatures.

“SAFE is a major step forward, not only for a very large and very important industry, but also as a model for the way in which leading companies in an industry cooperate to cut costs by moving to standards-based solutions that can scale globally,” said Phil Libin, president of CoreStreet.

“We’ve seen a real evolution in the scope and vision for SAFE during our work with them over the last two years, and we appreciate the opportunity to continue our work through the Vendor Partner Program as SAFE moves from standards-setting to implementation,” added Libin.

The SAFE system is designed to assure the identities of its subscribers and to reduce risks affiliated with creating legally-enforceable digital signatures. According to the association, use of the SAFE credential will allow members to save more than $100 per user per year-a cost reduction of at least 38 percent-in their identity management activities for both internal and external business partners. SAFE is an alternative to multiple and incompatible identity management schemes established by a variety of companies.

The SAFE digital identity comprises policies, procedures, guidelines, technical specifications, and a legal and liability risk management framework. It is being implemented globally for members, and is being extended to members’ partners and research organizations in the Americas and Europe.

“In order to drive down costs throughout the industry, it is critical that SAFE communications and transactions are trusted,” said Mollie Shields-Uehling, president and CEO, SAFE-BioPharma Association. “Industry adoption requires a cost-effective solution that delivers high performance on an industry-wide scale.”

CoreStreet’s Validation Authority software provides a secure, scalable and cost-effective way for participating organizations to trust every digitally-signed email message and document as well as applications shared with other members. CoreStreet software also makes it possible to instantly revoke an individual’s access rights, even if they are not connected to the network at that moment.

SAFE-BioPharma Association is encouraging the development of SAFE-enabled software and applications for a wide range of uses within the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.

About SAFE SAFE (www.safe-biopharma.org) is an integral component of the global eHealth movement. The SAFE digital identity, which facilitates both strong authentication and the creation of digital signatures, has been standardized with the specific goal of achieving interoperability in a secure and trusted environment. SAFE digital signatures are being used in business-to-business and business-to-regulator transactions. SAFE signatures are legally enforceable and regulatory compliant.

About CoreStreet Every day, the world’s most demanding government and commercial enterprises rely on CoreStreet technology to authorize critical events ranging from signed communications and transactions to physical access. More information, including technical whitepapers, industry solution studies and a list of the patents awarded to the company is available at www.corestreet.com.