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Strengthening Data Governance and Reducing Compliance Risk in the Pharma Industry

We designed and grew the Collibra Data Governance Center within the Central Data & Analytics Office. This long-term, iterative program gave commercial and medical affairs a shared business glossary, semantic layer, and end-to-end data lineage.

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Strengthening Data Governance and Reducing Compliance Risk in the Pharma Industry

About the client

Global pharmaceutical company managing commercial and medical affairs data across multiple divisions.

The challenge

The organization faced fragmented data management across commercial and medical affairs domains, without a unified view of ownership, quality, or data lineage.

  • Absence of a centralized business glossary, with the same terms defined differently across divisions
  • Unclear data ownership complicating accountability for quality and compliance
  • Limited visibility into data quality undermining trust in reporting for decision-making
  • Lack of data lineage limiting assessment of downstream impact from system or data changes
  • No unified semantic layer connecting technical data structures to business meaning
  • Regulatory requirements (compliance, audit) demanded clear documentation and data traceability

The solution

Long-term, iterative implementation and development of the Collibra Data Governance Center within the Central Data & Analytics Office, reflecting continued investment and long-term solution sustainability.

  • Design and implementation of an enterprise metamodel, community and domain structure, and business glossary
  • Building and maintenance of the physical data dictionary, documenting technical metadata (tables, columns, data types) alongside business definitions
  • Establishing a semantic layer linking business glossary terms to underlying physical data structures, bridging the gap between business and technical stakeholders
  • Configuration of the Collibra Data Quality tool by defining DQ rules and monitoring of critical data assets
  • Onboarding of source system metadata via Collibra connectors to capture end-to-end data lineage
  • Definition, registration, and management of Collibra data products, clarifying ownership, scope, and consumption of curated data sets across the organization
  • Training and ongoing support to Metadata Stewards across divisions
  • Iterative expansion of the metamodel with each platform release to meet new business needs

Business impact

  • 2

    domains under one framework

    Commercial and medical affairs now share a single business glossary, data catalog and semantic layer, eliminating terminology confusion between teams.

  • 70%

    faster impact analysis

    End-to-end data lineage lets teams assess the downstream effects of system or data changes more quickly, reducing risk in change management.

  • 85%

    of critical data assets under active DQ monitoring

    Defined data quality rules and regular reporting give data owners clear escalation paths on critical business data.

  • 35%

    increase in tool adoption

    Regular demos and training drove higher active usage of governance tools across the organization.

Frequently asked questions

What data governance challenges did the pharmaceutical company face?

Commercial and medical affairs data was managed in fragmented silos with no unified view of ownership, quality, or lineage. Different divisions used different definitions for the same terms, and there was no semantic layer connecting technical data structures with business meaning.

What did UD4D implement?

A long-term, iterative Collibra Data Governance Center within the Central Data & Analytics Office. The solution included an enterprise metamodel, community and domain structure, business glossary, physical data dictionary linked through a semantic layer, Collibra Data Quality rules and monitoring, source-system metadata onboarding for end-to-end lineage, and registered Collibra data products with clear ownership.

How does the platform support compliance and audit requirements?

Clear documentation, a single source of truth for business terms, and end-to-end data lineage provide the traceability required for compliance and audit. Defined data ownership and ongoing support for Metadata Stewards also help maintain clear accountability across divisions.

What results did the program deliver?

Two domains now operate under one governance framework. Impact analysis for system and data changes is 70% faster, 85% of critical data assets are under active data-quality monitoring, and tool adoption increased by 35% following regular demos and training.

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