As regulatory expectations evolve and the demand for secure, reusable clinical trial data grows, life sciences teams need more than just a basic anonymization tool. What they really need is a clinical trial transparency platform that’s scalable, intelligent, and built for compliance. That’s exactly what Instem delivers with the launch of Blur™ 2.9, the latest version of our industry-leading SaaS solution for compliant clinical data and document de-identification.
Designed in close collaboration with global pharmaceutical sponsors, Blur™ 2.9 brings powerful new capabilities to automated data de-identification, streamlines anonymization, and reduces timelines across global clinical trial transparency workflows. Whether you’re preparing a submission to the EMA or Health Canada, sharing trial data with a research partner, or proactively supporting open science initiatives, Blur 2.9 offers the performance, flexibility, and control your team needs.
Built for Compliance, and Designed for Speed
Blur™ is already trusted by some of the top 10 pharma companies and leading CROs to manage their clinical trial transparency obligations under regulations like:
- EMA Policy 0070 (Step 1 & 2)
- Health Canada PRCI
- EU Clinical Trial Regulation (EU CTR)
- GDPR and HIPAA
Blur 2.9 takes that foundation even further by introducing smarter automation, greater configurability, and new features that save time, reduce cost, and enhance the quality and defensibility of anonymized data.
What’s New in Blur 2.9?
The latest release includes enhancements across two of the three Blur modules – Blur Data and Blur CSR, along with significant system-level upgrades designed to support both large-scale disclosures and smaller, agile teams, and everyone in between.
Bulk De-Identification for High-Volume Projects
One of the most impactful updates in 2.9 is the Bulk De-Identification feature, which enables users to apply de-identification rules across multiple datasets and projects at once using pre-configured templates. This is a game-changer for large-scale data reuse initiatives, such as hydrating a data lake or preparing historical trial data for secondary research.
What used to take weeks of manual effort can now be accomplished in minutes, with consistency, auditability, and confidence! This can be a massive time-saver for clinical trial transparency and anonymization teams.
Smarter Template Governance
Template management has also been significantly improved. Blur 2.9 introduces a more comprehensive and intuitive UI for template configuration that mirrors the familiar project screen layout. Users can now create and edit rules more efficiently by managing them directly in the templates without having to rely on an underlying project. This gives teams the flexibility to customize de-identification strategies while maintaining control over governance and quality.
Unlocking the Power of Natural Language Processing (NLP)
De-identifying datasets is only part of the challenge. When it comes to documents like Clinical Study Reports (CSRs) and narratives, they’re often packed with sensitive information that must be redacted or anonymized with care. That’s where Blur CSR comes in.
With version 2.9, we’ve made significant upgrades to our NLP engine, including:
- Expanded sensitive term detection using Orphadata-aligned dictionaries
- Improved handling of complex and ambiguous date formats
- Better recognition of embedded identifiers, such as subject IDs, age values, or rare disease terms
- Enhanced ability to locate and manage images in PDF documents
- Support for preserving custom fonts and layout structures during redaction
These improvements allow Blur to detect sensitive information more accurately in narrative text, reduce the risk of missed identifiers, and produce cleaner, more regulator-ready documents faster than ever, giving sponsors and CROs top-tier clinical trial transparency operations.
New Features That Put Users First
Blur 2.9 includes a number of thoughtful improvements based on real-world user feedback, including:
- Data De-identification Error Highlighting to improve visibility of data anomalies
- Project pagination for easier navigation in high-volume environments
- Better XLS/XLSX support in the “Other Files” section
- Enhanced audit logging for Find PPD activity
- CSR Metadata Control to reduce post-processing.
All of these features are designed to reduce cognitive load on users, streamline compliance workflows, and make it easier for non-technical team members to manage complex clinical trial transparency projects.
Flexibility to Fit Your Team
Blur 2.9 is hosted on AWS, offering secure, scalable, and global access with industry-standard uptime and encryption. Whether you’re a small biotech preparing your first regulatory disclosure or a large pharma scaling clinical transparency across dozens of programs, Blur is designed to fit your workflow, not force you to conform to ours.
Use Blur as a standalone platform, integrate it into your existing Statistical Computing Environment (SCE), or partner with Instem’s Clinical Trial Transparency experts for fully managed or hybrid delivery.
Why Blur?
✔ Trusted by Top 10 Pharma & Leading CROs
✔ Modular, intuitive, and fully auditable
✔ Built for non-programmers and advanced users alike
✔ Flexible delivery models for any team size or timeline
✔ Aligned with evolving regulatory guidance
With more than 70 combined EMA and Health Canada submissions supported and a growing customer base across the U.S., EU, and Asia-Pacific, Blur is the gold standard in clinical trial transparency.
See What’s New in Blur 2.9
If you’re looking to reduce the time, cost, and compliance risk of clinical data anonymization and document redaction, there’s never been a better time to experience Blur.
Book a personalized demo or contact us at [email protected] to learn how Blur 2.9 can help transform your data sharing strategy.
