Elsevier MDL Introduces Electronic Lab Notebook
Elsevier MDL has launched MDL Notebook, the initial release of its major electronic lab notebook (ELN) initiative. MDL Notebook brings systematic efficiency to fundamental research activity by streamlining workflows, improving productivity, and integrating information throughout R&D organizations, says Trevor Heritage, Senior VP of the Workflow Business Group at Elsevier MDL. MDL Notebook gives scientists a central hub to simplify their work, capture data, document processes, and make essential information available throughout a research organization. Additional releases will expand capabilities for scientific disciplines, building on MDL informatics. MDL Notebook provides scientists with a hub for total workflow integration. From the MDL Notebook, scientists can store experiment protocols, share hypotheses with colleagues, and legally document discoveries. The system streamlines workflows, automates repetitive tasks, and allows scientists to create reports and collaborate. They can search corporate, third-party, and in-house databases. MDL Notebook brings scalable, enterprise-strength power to the user-authentication and audit functions required for due diligence and patent applications. It supports multisite, multinational operations; it can be interfaced to corporate LIMS; and it is backed by a worldwide customer care organization. “Elsevier MDL’s expertise in reaction databases and experience with custom electronic notebooks contributes to a comprehensive system that is unrivaled in integration capabilities, chemistry know-how, and IT performance,” says Trevor Heritage, senior VP of the Workflow Business Group at Elsevier MDL. StayinFront Releases Latest Version of CRM Software StayinFront Inc. has released StayinFront CRM 9.3, which is designed to improve the solution’s functionality on Tablet PCs. StayinFront CRM provides a single platform to manage and integrate all points of customer interaction, including sales, marketing, customer-support applications, and the Web. The latest release improves the user experience on Tablet PCs by meeting the Microsoft pen-perfect standard of integration within the Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 operating system. “StayinFront CRM 9.3 meets the highest standards of Tablet PC technology, creating simplified digital pen input for mobile salesforce users that, in turn, fosters higher levels of data accuracy and meaningful sales reporting,” says Tony Bullen, chief technology officer for StayinFront. Some of the user-centric features included are portrait awareness, which automatically adjusts the screen and application layout when the user selects portrait mode, and pen-aware search fields that permit search values to be easily input directly with the pen. The solution also now supports: electronic signature capture, allowing handwritten signatures to be attached to records in the system; factoid-aware data entry, which optimizes the effectiveness of handwriting recognition based on the type of data being entered; and note dictation, which lets users verbally dictate directly into notes fields. StayinFront CRM 9.3 meets the highest standards of Tablet PC technology, says Tony Bullen, Chief Technology Officer of StayinFront Inc. Agile Updates Product Life-cycle Management Software Agile Software Corp. has released Agile 9.2, the latest version of its software for managing the enterprise product record. This release features enhanced overall functionality and expands on the solution’s compliance, product-portfolio, product-collaboration, and quality-management modules. It provides a broad suite of business-ready, best-practice PLM solutions built on a unified enterprise PLM architecture. Agile 9.2 also supports the Linux operating system. “Our customers communicated a need for a highly functional solution that helps them meet increasing government regulations, manage shrinking product development cycles, drive quality, and integrate global supply chains,” says Bryan D. Stolle, CEO and chairman of Agile. “In the case of the Agile 9.2 release, our collaborative efforts have resulted in a highly functional solution that meets our customers’ needs.” Agile 9.2 includes: upgrades to the product governance and compliance solution and the product portfolio management solution; a new product-collaboration solution; an improved global interface; and a new product quality-management solution. Agile 9.2 builds upon our long-term efforts to include our customers in every step of the product-development process, says Bryan D. Stolle, CEO and Chairman of Agile Software Corp. ArisGlobal Releases Postmarketing Safety Analysis Software ArisGlobal has released SafetyMart, a comprehensive data-mining and signal-detection application that facilitates in-depth data analysis and proactive benefit/risk assessment of drug safety data. SafetyMart reduces the time required to analyze company data, allowing users to perform drill-down analysis and to test hypotheses. Users also can generate ad-hoc queries, create reports, and write summary ASRs and PSURs. SafetyMart also is provided with the FDA (FOI) data. As such, life-sciences companies can appraise their products’ performance through the eyes of the FDA, evaluate the safety behavior of similar compounds, assess the performance activities of competitive drugs, and gain a better understanding of emerging patterns and trends. Texas Instruments Offers RFID Product for Pharma Supply Chain Texas Instruments Inc. has broadened its line of Tag-it transponders with new memory, data protection, and form-factor options to meet the needs of pharmaceutical companies. This expanded line increases the scope, flexibility, and potential applications for radio frequency identification (RFID) solutions. The new Tag-it introduces tracking and authentication capabilities that provide system integrators and application providers with the flexibility to build data-protection and privacy functionality options into RFID solutions. This platform gives RFID application developers the flexibility to choose the optimum memory and level of security from a factory-locked unique ID, to user-programmed password lock with decommissioning or kill functionality, to the combination of RFID with public-key-infrastructure (PKI). “Our customers tell us they want the benefits of the ISO/IEC standard in a variety of options for both core and complex high-frequency RFID applications,” says Ulrich Denk, high-frequency RFID product marketing manager for Texas Instruments. Our Tag-it line offers a variety of options for both core and complex high-frequency RFID applications along with the flexibility to build in the level of functionality and data protection they need, says Ulrich Denk, High-Frequency RFID Product Marketing Manager at Texas Instruments Inc. Visiprise Enhances Its Integrated Manufacturing Platform Visiprise Inc. has launched Visiprise Manufacturing 4.1, an expanded version of the company’s integrated manufacturing platform released in 2005. The enhancements make it easier to find, track, and share operational information. Visiprise Manufacturing 4.1 offers increased performance and scalability and improved system security. New features include: an integrated product dashboard, device history record reports, time-based component traceability, lightweight directory access protocol, and enhanced data collection. “These additions further strengthen Visiprise Manufacturing’s ability to help global manufacturers integrate manufacturing operations,” says Sean McCloskey, president and CEO of Visiprise. As all segments of manufacturing continue to globalize, solutions like ours are vital to companies looking for richer visibility, enhanced performance, and stronger security, says Sean McCloskey, President and CEO of Visiprise Inc. PharMetrics’ Software Helps Marketers Show Value of Drugs PharMetrics has released its Cost of Care market-intelligence module, which gives pharmaceutical companies new insights for measuring the impact of their products and other medical interventions on healthcare costs. The Cost of Care module is part of PharMetrics’ Profiler Series suite of strategic brand-planning products. It incorporates anonymous, patient-level insights to help marketing teams create more value-oriented messages and maximize the formulary status of their brands. “Cost is a top-of-mind issue for everyone in the healthcare industry,” says Michael Weintraub, president of PharMetrics. “Differentiating a brand based on its economic value is a critical success factor, especially in light of the Medicare Modernization Act changes.” Typically, manufacturers rely on in-depth pharmacoeconomic studies to identify disease-related costs and compare the advantages of alternative therapies. PharMetrics’ Cost of Care module supplements these studies, providing a cost-effective solution to more rapidly assess the total healthcare cost associated with different treatment approaches. The Cost of Care module provides key stakeholders with better insights to assess and communicate the economic value of pharmaceutical products within the broader healthcare marketplace, says Michael Weintraub, President of PharMetrics. SupplyScape Launches Web-Based Service for Pharma Supply Chain SupplyScape Corp. has launched the SupplyScape RxAuthentication Service. Using this service, the serial number — or Electronic Product Code (EPC) — of each pharmaceutical package can be authenticated before the drugs are dispensed. The service leverages radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to store the EPC of the drug package, which pharmacies and wholesalers can verify on the Internet. “Confirming the drug’s Electronic Product Code is authentic is a critical step in protecting Americans from counterfeit drugs,” says Shabbir Dahod, president and CEO of SupplyScape. “This service provides a safety net whereby pharmacies and wholesalers have a quick and easy method for ensuring that each pharmaceutical package’s EPC did, in fact, originate from the pharmaceutical manufacturer.” Additionally, SupplyScape suggests that the RxAuthentication Service potentially could be useful for informing pharmacies about recalled products and providing up-to-date product information. WKHealth Updates Drug Information Database Wolters Kluwer Health (WKHealth) has released its Medi-Span Drug Information Bridge Application Programming Interface (API) version 3.1. The latest version of the tool provides greater emphasis on patient safety; specifically, this includes eliminating the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations’ (JCAHO) dangerous abbreviations and adding “Tall Man” drug names. The Bridge 3.1 provides access to multiple Medi-Span drug databases, while significantly reducing the programming time and effort required for implementation. It is specifically designed for retail pharmacies, long-term care facilities, hospitals, claims processors, physician offices, home-healthcare providers, and drug manufacturers. The updated application offers improved performance while continuing to provide healthcare professionals with seamless access to Medi-Span’s drug file and clinical screening databases. We have completely re-engineered the Bridge to provide faster screening, says Dr. Orinda McIntire of Wolters Kluwer Health. The SupplyScape RxAuthentication Service provides a safety net whereby pharmacies and wholesalers have a quick and easy method for ensuring that each pharmaceutical package’s EPC did, in fact, originate from the pharmaceutical manufacturer, says Shabbir Dahod, President and CEO of SupplyScape. The Zitter Group and Spotfire Combine Analysis Tools for Managed-Care Marketers The Zitter Group has enhanced the analytical capabilities of its Acumen Rx product by licensing Spotfire Inc.’s DecisionSite software analysis software. Acumen Rx is a managed-care analysis tool that draws upon multiple data streams and applies proprietary algorithms to generate insights on managed-care access and product performance. Spotfire’s flagship DecisionSite software provides a new element to Acumen Rx’s analytical capabilities by delivering this expertise within the premier user experience for interacting with information. With DecisionSite’s visual signature, data trends and anomalies are easily identified, rendering information immediately actionable. Company executives say this will create a comprehensive tool for pharmaceutical product marketers because it has the ability to track health plan coverage behavior on a regional basis to optimize resource allocations. The integration of these two products enables pharmaceutical companies to develop a deep understanding of how their products are performing with respect to formulary design, epidemiology, demand elasticity, and other factors that impact product accessibility. “Converting the analysis of plan-performance data into action across a full marketing and sales organization is required for pharmaceutical companies to retain their competitive edge,” says Christopher Ahlberg, CEO of Spotfire. “This will keep our mutual customers in control of the changes and shifts in this dynamic marketplace.” “Combining DecisionSite with Acumen Rx enables our clients access to actionable, data-driven information in a visual and interactive environment,”says Jack Lin, director of strategy and analytics at The Zitter Group. “Clients can use this insight to optimize their salesforce allocation and refine their rebate strategies, thereby creating and sustaining clear competitive advantage,” he says. Combining DecisionSite with Acumen Rx enables our clients to access actionable, data-driven information in a visual and interactive environment, says Jack Lin, Director of Strategy and Analytics at The Zitter Group. Pharsight Releases R&D Software Validation Suite Pharsight Corp. has released Pharsight Knowledgebase Server (PKS) Validation Suite. The Validation Suite enables rapid and reliable validation of PKS 3.0 installations using a combination of automated and manual tests. Pharsight’s PKS offering provides the technical infrastructure to effectively and securely manage pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic data and associated analyses across development programs or indications. The new Validation Suite provides templates for validation life-cycle documents, such as a Validation Plan, Test Plan, and Validation Summary Report, and inserts automated test results into a Validation Run Report. “Computer-systems validation is a crucial aspect of compliance and can be a rate-limiting step in the installation of clinical data-management and analysis systems,” says Shawn O’Connor, president and CEO of Pharsight. “The PKS Validation Suite streamlines the validation process for Pharsight’s PKS product, resulting in a shorter path to the efficiencies and reliability advantages that PKS offers.” The Validation Suite enables rapid and reliable validation of PKS 3.0 installations using a combination of automated and manual tests. Follow Up Agile Software Corp., San Jose, Calif., offers a broad suite of enterprise-class PLM solutions and time-to-value focused implementations. For more information, visit agile.com. ArisGlobal LLC, Stamford, Conn., provides pharmacovigilance and safety, registration information management, clinical-trials management, and medical communications software solutions to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical-device, and clinical research organization markets. For more information, visit arisglobal.com. Elsevier MDL, San Leandro, Calif., a division of Elsevier, provides informatics, database, and workflow solutions for life-sciences R&D. For more information, visit mdl.com. PharMetrics Inc., Watertown, Mass., a unit of IMS Health, provides healthcare market insights based on its proprietary database of longitudinal, integrated medical and pharmaceutical claims data. For more information, visit pharmetrics.com. Pharsight Corp., Mountain View, Calif., develops and markets products and services that help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies improve their decision-making in drug development and commercialization. For more information, visit pharsight.com. Spotfire Inc., Somerville, Mass., provides interactive, visual data-analysis applications and services that empower enterprises and their end-users to improve operational performance and gain an information advantage over the competition. For more information, visit spotfire.com. StayinFront Inc., Fairfield, N.J., is a global provider of enterprisewide customer relationship management applications, decision support tools, data services, and e-business systems. For more information, visit stayinfront.com. SupplyScape Corp., Woburn, Mass., provides supply-chain security software and expertise to safeguard the pharmaceutical supply chain. For more information, visit supplyscape.com. Texas Instruments Inc., Dallas, provides digital signal processor and analog technologies to meet customers’ real world signal-processing requirements. For more information, visit ti.com. Visiprise Inc., Alpharetta, Ga., provides software solutions for integrating manufacturing operations. For more information, visit visiprise.com. Wolters Kluwer Health, Conshohocken, Pa., is a division of Wolters Kluwer that provides information for professionals and students in medicine, nursing, allied health, pharmacy, and the pharmaceutical industry. For more information, visit wkhealth.com. The Zitter Group, San Francisco, is a developer of solutions for managed markets that secure, establish, and maintain essential links between the brand goals and the economic needs of business decision-makers. For more information, visit zitter.com.
