Modernizing Document Management in a Regulated Environment

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (known in Croatia as PLIVA) is a global pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures, and distributes medicines. Within its business processes, documentation plays a critical role—from drug safety monitoring to regulatory compliance and quality control. As the company continues to grow and expand its scope of operations, the need for a reliable, modern, and flexible documentation archive becomes increasingly important.
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The Brief

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (known in Croatia as PLIVA) is a global pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures, and distributes medicines. Within its business processes, documentation plays a critical role - from drug safety monitoring to regulatory compliance and quality control. As the company continues to grow and expand its scope of operations, the need for a reliable, modern, and flexible documentation archive becomes increasingly important.


In the pharmaceutical industry, documentation is not just paperwork, it is proof of the quality, safety, and compliance of products that reach the market. As the volume of documentation at Teva / PLIVA increased, the traditional archiving system became slow, difficult to navigate, and prone to errors.
The goal of the project was to create a modern application for document archiving and management, one that would be faster, more secure, and flexible enough to support future growth. The new archive needed to enable easier access to all key documents while providing full control over their entire lifecycle.

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Requirements

At Teva / PLIVA, every document has its own lifecycle: it enters the archive, is used across different departments, is sometimes borrowed and returned, and is eventually permanently destroyed once it is no longer needed. However, the existing system could no longer keep up with the growing archive, increasing regulatory demands, and the need for faster access to data.

The client required a solution that would simplify and accelerate the entire process, from archiving to searching, while providing full control over who accesses documents, when, and how. Protecting sensitive data was critical: every access had to be logged, every change recorded, and every document easily available to authorized personnel.

At the same time, the system needed to enable precise tracking of borrowed and destroyed documents in order to eliminate gaps in records and reduce the risk of misuse.
In addition, it was necessary to technically strengthen the archive. By migrating from PHP4 to a more modern and agile platform, the system would achieve better performance, a longer lifespan, and a secure foundation for future upgrades.

The outcome Teva / PLIVA expected was clear: an archive system that can be trusted, a system that safeguards documents with the same reliability as the trust placed in their accuracy and security.

Solution

Serengeti was involved in the complete modernization of the existing Document Archive system. The objective was not only a technical upgrade, but the creation of a faster, more secure, and more reliable environment for the data that underpins Teva’s business. The new system enabled documents not only to be stored, but to be actively managed throughout their entire lifecycle.

To achieve this, the project focused on:

  • migrating from PHP4 to more modern technologies (PHP7 or the STRIX framework) to ensure long-term sustainability
  • performance optimization for faster document access and more efficient processing
  • preparation for further functional upgrades, allowing the system to support future business needs

Within the application, the following are precisely tracked:

  • core data about archived documents
  • the status of borrowed (in-circulation) documents
  • records of permanently destroyed documentation
  • analytical data within the system
  • document traffic and movement throughout the organization

With this approach, each document has a clearly recorded history, from the moment it enters the archive to the end of its lifecycle, ensuring complete control, security, and availability at all times.

Technologies & Methodologies

The modernization of the Document Archive system builds on the existing technological foundation: an application originally developed in PHP4, with a front end based on HTML, CSS, jQuery, and JavaScript, and a PostgreSQL database for data storage.

To extend the system’s lifespan and enable scalability, the project includes migration to PHP7 or the STRIX framework, delivering improved performance, stability, and security. The new technological foundation enables faster development of functionalities that further enhance document management.

This establishes a solid and reliable foundation for long-term system maintenance and development, without disrupting existing business processes in a highly regulated pharmaceutical environment.

Top Benefits for the Client

Faster and simpler access to documents.

More secure management of sensitive information.

A sustainable and upgrade-ready system for the future.

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