Compare Astraea
Astraea vs. Saama
Saama provides AI-backed SaaS products and industry services for sponsor and CRO teams, centralizing clinical data and analytics in its cloud platform. Astraea is software your team runs: forward-deployed engineers install it inside your own environment, where your data never leaves, and it automates everything after protocol and raw data — SAP, eCRFs, TFLs, SDTM and ADaM datasets, Define-XML, QC, and submission documents.
What is Astraea?
Astraea is clinical trial automation software that pharmaceutical sponsors run themselves — not a CRO, and not a web-hosted service. It automates everything after protocol design and raw data collection: the SAP, eCRFs, TFLs, SDTM and ADaM datasets, Define-XML, QC, and submission documents, in one auditable system installed inside the sponsor's own environment.
The verdict
Saama is the right choice for sponsor and CRO teams that want an established cloud software suite spanning clinical data, biostatistics workflows, and broader clinical and commercial analytics. Astraea is the right choice for teams that want to run everything after protocol and raw data themselves — SAP, eCRFs, TFLs, datasets, Define-XML, QC, and submission documents — deployed inside their own environment, where Astraea never sees their data. The distinction is in-environment execution and data control versus a broader cloud software suite—not software versus a CRO.
What changes operationally?
A quick view of where the workflow runs, who operates it, and what capability remains with your team.
| Decision question | Astraea | Saama | Bottom line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where does the workflow run? | Inside the sponsor's environment | Saama's cloud platform | Choose based on whether an external platform boundary is acceptable. |
| Who operates the capability? | Sponsor team, supported by forward-deployed engineers | Sponsor and CRO teams use Saama's cloud platform with implementation services | Both are software models; Astraea is installed inside the sponsor's environment. |
| Who can access sponsor data? | Astraea never sees customer data | Sponsor data is processed in Saama's cloud environment | Astraea minimizes movement outside the sponsor environment. |
| What is automated? | Post-protocol work through submission outputs | Clinical data, analytics, biometrics, programming, and document workflows | The decisive difference is deployment, data boundary, and product breadth. |
When to choose Saama
Choose Saama when sponsor or CRO teams want an established cloud software suite spanning clinical data and broader analytics.
When to choose Astraea
Choose Astraea when the sponsor wants broad post-protocol automation inside its own environment and wants to retain workflow control.
Map one current workflow before comparing vendors.
Bring one biometrics or submission workflow. Astraea will map where data moves, who owns each handoff, and what could run inside your environment.
Side by side
How Astraea compares to Saama.
Both provide AI software for clinical workflows. The difference is deployment and scope: Astraea runs inside the sponsor's environment across the connected post-protocol pipeline, while Saama provides a broader cloud product suite for sponsor and CRO teams.
| Criterion | Astraea | Saama (cloud AI platform) |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery model | YesSoftware your team runs to create and control your own trials | PartialAI-backed SaaS products plus product-based industry services |
| Operated by sponsor or CRO teams | YesYour statisticians operate the pipeline and own every decision | YesSaama's platform is built for sponsor and CRO users |
| Automates everything after protocol & raw data | YesSAP, eCRFs, TFLs, SDTM/ADaM, Define-XML, QC, documents — one system | PartialSaama offers separate products for SDTM transformation, statistical programming, data review, and document workflows |
| Generates SDTM & ADaM datasets from raw data | YesDataset generation is core to the pipeline | PartialSource to Submission maps raw data to SDTM; BRAIN manages statistical programming and TLF workflows |
| AI-assisted workflow automation | YesAgentic execution across the full pipeline | YesAI-assisted mapping, data review, medical review, and statistical programming workflows |
| Deployed in your environment (data never leaves) | YesInstalled in your systems by forward-deployed engineers; Astraea never sees your data | NoCloud platform; your data is processed in the vendor's cloud |
| Audit trail & traceability | YesFull lineage, versioning, audit-ready by construction | YesBRAIN logs code and artifact changes; Data Hub supports validated configuration workflows |
| Therapeutic & indication coverage | YesClients across oncology, rare disease, other indications, and devices | YesPublished enterprise relationships include Pfizer and AstraZeneca |
| Clinical & commercial analytics breadth | PartialFocused on the post-protocol-to-submission automation pipeline | YesBroad platform spanning clinical and commercial analytics |
Where Saama wins
What Saama does best.
A broad AI clinical data product suite
Saama publishes cloud products for data ingestion, data quality, patient review, SDTM transformation, and statistical programming, plus implementation and professional services for sponsor and CRO teams.
Enterprise scale, proven with large pharma
Saama has published multi-year platform relationships with large pharmaceutical sponsors including Pfizer and AstraZeneca. Organizations prioritizing an enterprise vendor with public large-pharma references may value that record.
Breadth beyond biometrics
Saama's platform spans clinical and commercial analytics, not just the submission pipeline. Sponsors that want one vendor across trial analytics and commercial lifecycle data get a broader footprint than a focused pipeline tool.
Where Astraea wins
Software you run, in your environment.
Your team runs it where your data already lives.
Saama provides cloud-based AI clinical data and analytics products used by sponsor and CRO teams, with implementation and product-based industry services. Astraea is software your own statisticians and programmers run inside your environment, keeping the science, pipeline, and data within systems you control.
Your data never leaves your systems.
Saama's products use cloud-based architectures that centralize clinical data. Astraea is installed inside your own environment by forward-deployed engineers, and Astraea never sees your data. Sponsors can evaluate the models against their own data-residency and security requirements.
Everything after protocol and raw data, in one system.
Astraea generates the SAP, eCRFs, TFLs, SDTM and ADaM datasets, Define-XML, and QC end to end in one auditable system with named-reviewer sign-off on every output — a focused biometrics-to-submission pipeline rather than a broad enterprise suite delivered as a service.
FAQ
Astraea vs. Saama, answered.
The questions biometrics and biostatistics leads ask most when comparing in-environment automation with a broader cloud clinical data and analytics platform.
Is Saama a CRO?
No. Saama describes itself as a provider of AI-backed SaaS solutions and product-based industry services for sponsors and CROs; it does not describe itself as a contract research organization. Astraea is installed inside the sponsor's own environment, where the sponsor's team runs the workflow and Astraea never sees the data.
What is the difference between Astraea and Saama?
The biggest difference is deployment and data handling. Saama provides cloud-based AI clinical data and analytics software used by sponsor and CRO teams, with implementation and industry services. Astraea's forward-deployed engineers install software inside your own environment, where Astraea never sees your data, and your statisticians run it to automate everything after protocol and raw data — SAP, eCRFs, TFLs, SDTM and ADaM datasets, Define-XML, QC, and submission documents.
Is Astraea better than Saama?
Astraea is better for teams that want to run the post-protocol-to-submission pipeline inside their own environment, keeping control and data in-house. Saama is better for sponsor or CRO teams that want an established cloud software suite spanning clinical data, biostatistics workflows, and broader analytics. The right choice depends on product scope, deployment, and data-boundary requirements.
Can Astraea replace Saama?
Astraea can replace or complement specific Saama workflows in the biometrics-to-submission pipeline — generating the SAP, eCRFs, SDTM and ADaM datasets, TFLs, and Define-XML and running conformance QC in one system deployed in your own environment. It is not a like-for-like replacement for Saama's broader clinical and commercial analytics platform. The right fit depends on the specific workflows and deployment model required.
Who should use Saama instead of Astraea?
Sponsor and CRO teams that want an established cloud software platform spanning clinical data, operational insights, biostatistics workflows, and commercial analytics should consider Saama. Teams that want to run the post-protocol-to-submission pipeline inside their own environment, keeping data and control in-house, should consider Astraea.
See months of biometrics work compressed into days.
Astraea automates everything after protocol and raw data — SAP, eCRFs, TFLs, datasets, Define-XML, and QC — in one auditable system, deployed inside your environment where your data never leaves, with statisticians in control of every decision.