New electronic and web-based applications, sites, and technologies Solutions From PHT Provide Clinical Trial Savings and Flexibility Two recently launched offerings from PHT Corp., LogPad Phone and the Technology Transfer Program, aim to make the electronic capture of clinical-trial information easier and more cost efficient. The LogPad Phone uses the wireless Internet to enable subjects to enter diary data from virtually anywhere. The LogPad Phone can be deployed on mobile phones that use WAP 2.0 browsers. Subjects access questionnaires via a secure connection to the PHT server using a Secure Socket Layer protocol over a digital wireless network. After each question is answered, the LogPad Phone immediately submits the responses to the server. When the diary is completed, subjects digitally “sign” the diary with a unique access code. The company’s Technology Transfer Program enables clinical-trial sponsors to license PHT’s product suite for in-house development of LogPads and StudyPads. Key features of PHT’s Technology Transfer offering include flexible module options, comprehensive training, and transfer of PHT’s experience-based best practices delivery methodology. Modules available for licensing include the PHT Study Server, reporting modules, integration tools, and archiving. PHT’s Technology Transfer Program includes a full set of training courses to ensure that pharmaceutical clients get the most out of their investment. According to PHT executives, a savings of upwards of 50% per clinical trial can be realized by pharmaceutical sponsors that are planning multiple trials using electronic patient reported outcomes. IMS Health/BiotechWatch Alliance Puts Biotech Company Profiles Online A marketing alliance between IMS Health and BiotechWatch offers IMS clients real-time biotech company insights to support licensing, partnership, and merger and acquisition activities. Through the agreement, IMS’ pharmaceutical, biotech, and financial clients are able to access continuously updated profiles on about 600 biotech companies across 25 different search criteria, as well as information on 5,000 clinical trials, 250 disease states, and 20 medical specialties. “Today, many companies are looking to the biotech sector as a source of potential new products, licensing agreements, and partnerships,” says Rosanna D’Orazio, IMS VP of brand management. “At the same time, small and often under-funded biotech companies are seeking to align with large pharmaceutical companies and healthcare organizations to increase research funding and improve commercial success.” The BiotechWatch service is available through IMS Knowledge Link and features daily updates on all clinical trials, as well as financial information such as stock price, market cap, shares outstanding, 52-week high and low averages, and derivative values, which are updated every five minutes. An enhanced version of IMS Knowledge Link provides a link to BiotechWatch with two database offerings, Premium and Trialview. The Premium database offers in-depth coverage of companies in the sector and the ability to search and sort on more than 20 parameters, providing the ability to integrate both financial and clinical data. The Trialview database offers disease-specific and sectorwide clinical-trial information, allowing the user to point and click on any of 200 diseases and medical specialties so that they can easily identify products under development, as well as the companies associated with those projects. Rosanna D’Orazio, IMS VP of brand management, says, “Our alliance with BiotechWatch supports the critical business needs of small biotech companies, helping our clients assess potential competitors and/or partners in specific development areas.” WebMD Health and APHA Launch Public Health Website WebMD Health has launched a Website in collaboration with The American Public Health Association designed to provide global access to the latest research findings affecting public health and healthcare practice. The Medscape Public Health and Prevention Website was designed to be a cutting-edge resource for a variety of health professionals, offering timely information about important public health issues of the day and tools for improved practice. Coverage includes expert commentary and analysis on public health issues, epidemiological reports, and other clinically important findings, as well as original news from the WebMD Medscape editorial team, online professional education (CME/CE) with instant certificates, MEDLINE with Medscape Select search, and the Medscape DrugInfo database. In addition, selected articles from APHA’s American Journal of Public Health and The Nation’s Health newsletter will be featured as part of the Medscape Publishers’ Circle online library. publichealth.medscape.com was launched to provide global access to the latest research findings affecting public health and healthcare practices. New HealthBridge Site Reflects Customer-Focused Approach To Reimbursement Solutions The new corporate Website for HealthBridge, a company that provides the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries with reimbursement solutions, positions the company as one that delivers results with a higher level of customer service. Designed by Zeeo Interactive Inc., HealthBridge’s new Web presence corresponds with the company’s recent branding efforts. The site, healthbridgeinc.com, was designed in collaboration with HealthBridge’s marketing department to create a design and message that accurately reflects the company’s personal approach. As part of HealthBridge’s new site, Zeeo re-engineered the information architecture, making the site more effective at channeling visitors. Zeeo also was able to leverage HealthBridge’s existing content management system and integrate it into the new corporate Web presence. Prescription Sample Service Available Through PDR Website as Part of MedManage Alliance An alliance between MedManage Systems and Thomson PDR is providing PDR Sample Service to physicians through the PDR Website. The combination of the eMedSample platform on the PDR resource helps pharmaceutical companies expand their physician coverage and drive new patient starts. The sampling software supplies marketer-selected physicians with samples in the quantity, form, and delivery method they choose. According to an IMS Health survey of more than 2,200 physicians, about 32% of medical professionals admit they stopped or greatly reduced prescribing certain medicines because of a lack of samples. Furthermore, 25% held off prescribing a new medication until samples became available and 70% surveyed said they are receiving insufficient quantities of samples. “For pharmaceutical companies, the coupling of PDR credibility, resources, and broad reach with drug sample availability is a natural and powerful marketing strategy,” says David Duplay, executive VP of Thomson PDR. Together, MedManage and PDR can efficiently provide online access to medication samples to prescribers of specific interest to our pharmaceutical customers and ensure that our sampling service is integrated into the daily workflow of healthcare professionals. Cecil Kost IMS Launches Knowledge Link 2 IMS Health has released IMS Knowledge Link 2, an enhanced version of IMS’s Web-based information resource for pharmaceutical, biotech, generic drug, consultancy, and finance industry professionals. The new tool offers instant access to critical business information about the global pharmaceutical market. IMS Knowledge Link 2 includes access to: detailed sales data for 4,500 marketed products in 300 therapy areas; quarterly sales updates on a moving annual total basis; more than 35,000 news articles on critical R&D events such as licensing offers, phase changes, launches, and approvals; daily information from Reuters Health news service; and increased coverage of 36 markets around the world. IMS Knowledge Link 2 also includes patent information for 1,830 molecules, updated monthly, for nine countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland. MDS Electronic Data Delivery System Allows for Real-time, Late-Stage Clinical Trials Management MDS Pharma Services, a provider of innovative drug-discovery and development solutions, has introduced MDS Pharma Express, a service that provides sponsors with real-time access to their clinical-trial management data via a customized, secure, Web-based interface. “MDS Pharma Express is intuitive, user-friendly, and designed to operate with minimal computer requirements and the highest level of Internet security,” says Alan Horgan, group VP, late stage development at MDS. “With MDS Pharma Express, clients gain easy access to their current study status information in real time, anytime.” The service makes it possible to access investigator and subject summary information, including drill-down features and hyperlinks to such data as print-ready reports on study status and site visits, as well as site visit schedules. Screen zones, or portlets, retrieve live study status information from MDS Pharma Services’ in-house, proprietary operational databases, which are automatically published on a systematic time schedule through MDS Pharma Express’ Web interface. The benefits of MDS Pharma Express include the ability to monitor project status and activity and view contact reports through a single portal; track and promote critical milestones and share key information; provide unlimited, sponsor-authorized user access; facilitate the administration and communication of significant amounts of information transferred each day; enhance clients’ global and local studies with its global data management capabilities; customize reports to project-specific requirements; and access a shared file exchange and post forms, newsletters, or other documents. Benefits of MDS Pharma Express include the ability to monitor project status and activity and view contact reports through a single portal. Follow up The American Public Health Association, Washington, D.C., is the oldest and largest organization of public- health professionals in the world, representing more than 50,000 members from more than 50 occupations of public health. For more information, visit apha.org. BiotechWatch, Franklin, Mich., provides detailed, comprehensive, and timely information on the biotech sector. The BiotechWatch database follows more than 600 biotechnology firms and contains important information on more than 5,000 products and clinical trials. For more information, visit biotechwatch.com. HealthBridge, Braintree, Mass., provides pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical-device companies with reimbursement solutions that support product goals and educate physicians, payers, and patients. For more information, visit healthbridgeinc.com. IMS Health, Fairfield, Conn., provides information solutions to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. For more information, visit imshealth.com. MDS Pharma Services, Lincoln, Neb., part of MDS Inc., offers a full spectrum of resources to meet the drug discovery and development needs of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. For more information, visit mdsps.com. MedManage Systems, Bothell, Wash., offers comprehensive prescription drug sampling solutions for the pharmaceutical industry. For more information, visit medmanagesystems.com. PHT Corp., Charlestown, Mass., provides electronic patient reported outcome solutions for companies that must collect conclusive clinical-trial data. For more information, visit phtcorp.com. Thomson PDR, Montvale, N.J., a unit of The Thomson Corp., publisher of The Physicians’ Desk Reference, the drug information standard that reaches almost 500,000 practicing physicians in the U.S. on a complimentary basis each year. For more information, visit pdr.net WebMD Health, Elmwood Park, N.J., a unit of WebMD Corp., provides online information, educational services, and communities for physicians and consumers. For more information, visit webmd.com.
