A Forte OnCore alternative for investigator-led trials that need data capture first
OnCore is a CTMS used by academic medical and cancer centres. Many investigators do not need to replace it; they need an EDC, ePRO and consent layer that works alongside or without it. Here is how to tell which situation you are in.
- Neutral comparison
- No vendor pricing claims
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Free sandbox · No credit card · 21 CFR Part 11 compliant
| OnCore (CTMS) | Capture | |
|---|---|---|
| Institution-wide portfolio management | Ask your office | Not the design goal |
| Site data entry (eCRF) with edit checks | Ask vendor | Yes, EDC |
| ePRO and eConsent in the study | Ask vendor | Yes, one audit trail |
| PI can start without a rollout project | Ask your office | Self-serve, free sandbox |
| Tracks sites, milestones, enrollment, tasks | Ask vendor | Yes, in the platform |
The short version
- OnCore is a web-based clinical trial management system. Secondary sources describe Forte Research Systems, its original developer, as now part of Advarra, and describe OnCore as widely used at academic medical centres and cancer centres. Reviewers on third-party sites mention billing and financial management, specimen management, reporting and effort tracking. Confirm the current scope with Advarra.
- A CTMS is an institutional system: it manages the portfolio, the finances and the regulatory record around trials. An EDC is the study system: it captures the visit data, questionnaires and consent.
- For most investigators, the real question is not "replace OnCore" but "what do I use for data capture in my trial". Capture is a self-serve answer to that second question, and it also tracks sites, milestones, enrollment and tasks for the study itself.
- Capture is not a replacement for institutional financial or regulatory management, so do not plan to retire a CTMS your institution mandates.
- No pricing, rating or adoption claims about OnCore appear on this page.
Scope
Where a CTMS ends and a study platform begins
Academic cancer centres typically run a large portfolio of trials with shared infrastructure: a central protocol office, budget and billing review, calendars, and registry reporting. A CTMS is designed to hold that institutional picture. That is the category in which OnCore is usually described.
The investigator who opens a protocol sees something narrower. They need case report forms their coordinators can fill in, a way for participants to answer questionnaires and sign consent, queries when an entry looks wrong, and an export for the statistician. A CTMS may link to such a system, but it is not usually where those records are authored. That is the EDC layer, and in academic settings it is often a research database, a spreadsheet or a general survey tool, none of which is built for audit trails and edit checks.
This is why many centres run a CTMS and a separate EDC. Capture is the second kind of tool. It gives a principal investigator a study-level system they can set up without a rollout project, and it records who entered what, when, and why it changed. The EDC vs CTMS explainer lays out the distinction in more detail.
Where a CTMS-like need is limited to the study itself, such as seeing sites, milestones, enrollment by site and open tasks, Capture's CTMS page describes tracking that in the same platform as the data.
Evaluation
Questions to ask before you pick an OnCore alternative
Some of these go to your own research office. Others go to vendors.
| Topic | Question | What Capture offers for comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Mandate | Does our institution require a CTMS for every trial, and what must be recorded there? | Capture does not replace a mandated institutional CTMS; it supplies study-level capture and tracking. |
| Finance | Who handles budgets, billing and effort reporting, and in what system? | Not a Capture function. Keep the institutional system for it. |
| Data capture | Where will site staff enter protocol data, with edit checks and queries? | Capture eCRFs with edit checks, auto-queries and field-level audit trail. |
| Participant data | How do participants consent and report outcomes? | eConsent with email OTP and ePRO questionnaires, in one study and trail. |
| Speed | How quickly can a new investigator-initiated trial get a working system? | Sign up, upload a protocol for an AI draft you review, test in the free sandbox. |
| Multi-site | Can partner sites enter data with the right separation? | Site-level numbering, a coordinator portal, by-site filtering and QR enrolment. |
| Compliance | What compliance do we need documented for the sponsor or funder? | ISO 27001 certified, 21 CFR Part 11 compliant, GDPR compliant, HIPAA compliant, ICH GCP E6(R3) compliant. |
| Exit | How do we get the data out for analysis and archive? | CSV/Excel with data dictionary, audit trail export, SDTM as SAS XPT with Define-XML. |
The Capture column comes from the Capture product pages. It does not describe OnCore.
Prototype your trial's data capture this week
Upload the protocol to the free sandbox, review the AI-drafted visits and forms, and enter sample data before you raise a request with IT. No card.
Study oversight
Status you can read from the data itself
A study-level overview shows each subject and visit by status, so enrolment status, visits and open queries come from the same records the sites are working in. It is oversight for the trial, not for the institution.
- Status of every subject and visit in one view.
- Filter by site.
- Open queries visible alongside enrolment.
Investigator-led trials
Set up a trial without a rollout project
The AI study builder reads a protocol and drafts the visit schedule and forms. A person reviews every item before anything is saved, and forms then move from draft to approved. Investigators, coordinators and a statistician can each work from the same system with role-based access.
- Roles for researchers, site coordinators and admins.
- Coded IDs for researchers; names visible to coordinators only.
- Blank eCRF PDF for ethics submissions.
- SO
Study owner
Builds and configures the study
- PI
Principal investigator
Oversees the site, signs off the casebook
- SI
Sub-investigator
Enters and signs clinical data
- SC
Study coordinator
Screens subjects, enters visit data
- CRA
Monitor (CRA)
Verifies data, raises queries
- DM
Data manager
Reviews, freezes and locks data
- PT
Participant
Completes their own questionnaires
Decision aid
Which setup matches you?
Your institution mandates a CTMS and you need an EDC
Keep the CTMS; add Capture at study level and ask the research office what must be mirrored.
You are an investigator with no EDC
Start with data capture. A CTMS entry can follow your institution's process.
You are a smaller site or non-profit with no CTMS
Capture's tracking may be enough at study level; read best CTMS for small studies.
You need institution-wide billing and effort reporting
That is a CTMS or finance job; Capture is not designed for it.
You are replacing a spreadsheet or REDCap
See the REDCap comparison for a controls-based head-to-head.
Is Capture an OnCore replacement?
Not for institution-wide portfolio, billing or regulatory management. Capture is a study-level platform for EDC, ePRO, eConsent and randomization, with tracking of sites, milestones, enrollment and tasks for the study itself.
Who owns OnCore now?
Secondary sources, including a software listing, describe OnCore as from Advarra, formerly Forte Research Systems. Confirm with the vendor.
Can I use Capture alongside OnCore?
That is a common pattern for CTMS plus EDC. Ask your research office which records must be mirrored in the CTMS and whether it needs enrollment counts from your study data, which Capture can export.
Does Capture do billing or specimen management?
No. Do not plan to retire a system that handles those for your institution.
How does Capture support multi-site academic trials?
Sites have their own participant numbering, a coordinator portal, QR-code enrolment and by-site filtering and exports.
How much does OnCore cost?
We do not quote competitor pricing. Ask your research office or Advarra.
Can I try Capture first?
Yes. The free sandbox has every feature, no credit card and no time limit. You pay once you go live with real participants.
Get the study data capture running first
Build your trial in Capture, free. No credit card.