New Electronic and Web-based Applications, Sites, and Technologies
Featured Briefs: Intrasphere Solution Keeps Pace with Clinical Trial Disclosure Requirements New Tool Measures Sales Team’s Grasp of Managed Markets Concepts PPD Unveils Centralized Biostatistics Technology Infrastructure Model Metrics Tailors Salesforce CRM for Life-Sciences Industry Kantar Health, ImpactRx Collaborate on Solution for Oncology Business Decisions TGaS Develops Digital Marketing Index Endpoint’s Pulse Raises Bar in Clinical Trial IRT Wolters Kluwer Health Renames Electronic Drug Reference Product Quotient Bioresearch Launches Corporate Web Site PainBalance Strives to Aid Healthcare Professionals in Treating Chronic Pain PatientFinder Identifies Market Opportunities for Pharma Firms Sidebar: E-upgrades and enhancements Follow Up ENDPOINT develops technology platforms for the life-sciences industry. For more information, visit endpointclinical.com. IMPACTRX INC. provides market research and intelligence to track and evaluate the promotional initiatives of the pharmaceutical industry and measure their impact on physician behavior. For more information, visit impactrx.com. INTRASPHERE TECHNOLOGIES INC. is a consulting and software solutions firm focused on the life-sciences industry. For more information, visit intrasphere.com. KANTAR HEALTH is a healthcare-focused primary research and consulting company. For more information, visit kantarhealth.com. MODEL METRICS delivers solutions and services at the cutting edge of the cloud computing industry. For more information, visit modelmetrics.com. PHARMACEUTICAL INSTITUTE, a subsidiary of Campbell Alliance, creates specialized training programs for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. For more information, visit pharmainstitute.com. PPD INC. is a global contract research organization. For more information, visit ppdi.com. TGAS ADVISORS provides benchmarking and advisory services to the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries. For more information, visit tgas.com. Intrasphere Technologies’ PharmaCM CTR Express is a comprehensive, fully validated clinical trial registration and results disclosure solution that is preconfigured for quick deployment. Pharma CM CTR Express is a software as a service (SaaS) product hosted by Intrasphere and updated regularly to keep current with rapidly evolving trial disclosure requirements for subscribers. Suitable for any size life-sciences organization, PharmaCM CTR Express is easily configured to support disclosure processes for both small and large teams. Developed and maintained to comply with 21 CFR Part 11, PharmaCM CTR Express provides subscribers with access to a validated solution that is updated regularly without additional work from their IT and compliance departments “Through its well-designed, intuitive user interface and proven workflows, PharmaCM CTR Express is designed to lower compliance risk and effort by making complex disclosure requirements simple to manage," says Thomas Wicks, product manager of Intrasphere. The solution is ideal for any size life-sciences organization looking to streamline its disclosure processes, says Thomas Wicks. Pharmaceutical Institute’s Managed Markets IQ offering uses a Web-based tool to assess team members’ understanding of fundamental and advanced managed markets concepts, enabling companies to measure the managed markets knowledge of their commercial teams and compare those results with industry benchmarks. Designed to complement the company’s Managed Markets Excellence e-course series, Managed Markets IQ helps front-line managers, sales leaders, and training organizations quickly identify strengths and weaknesses in team members’ understanding of core managed markets concepts. Working closely with Pharmaceutical Institute, clients choose topics and questions within the knowledge categories most relevant to their business. Participants are then asked a series of subjective and objective questions of varying degrees of difficulty. “With close to 80% of last year’s prescription drug expenditures in the United States being managed by private and government payers, it is critical that commercial team members have a solid understanding of managed markets," says Garry O’Grady, senior VP and general manager of Pharmaceutical Institute. “Managed Markets IQ allows commercial leaders to quickly assess team members on managed markets topics that are most relevant to their selling environment, identify knowledge gaps or weakness in these areas, and then develop customized training solutions to meet the specific needs of their team." Close to 80% of last year’s prescription drug expenditures in the United States were managed by private and government payers, says Garry O’Grady. PPD’s new biostatistics technology infrastructure (BTI) is a centralized computing platform that enhances the company’s ability to deliver secure, quality reporting and data analysis to meet client timelines. The virtual server environment allows PPD to deploy global teams of biostatisticians and programmers to projects on a single platform. The analysis processing environments are located in the same data centers as PPD’s clinical data management systems, eliminating the need to move large quantities of data between file servers. Operating on this unified platform reduces bandwidth utilization, increases employee productivity, and creates significant time savings. “This new environment allows our employees around the world to work together, accessing the same data," says Susan Atkinson, senior VP, global biometrics and technical operations. “Our investment in a global, innovative solution decreases our computer processing time and enhances our data security, giving us the ability to deliver more efficiently for our clients." Model Metrics has launched Pharma2GO Spring ‘10, a mobile salesforce automation solution specifically designed for pharmaceutical and life-sciences sales representatives to maximize customer relationship management (CRM) effectiveness before, during, and after the sales call. Pharma2GO Spring ‘10 is part of Model Metrics’ 2GO Mobile Cloud platform, which addresses the needs of sales reps and others who work in the field and require an efficient and well-designed offline CRM solution. Pharma2GO’s offline interface simplifies customer profiling, signature capture, sample management, and call reporting, and its advanced analytics enhance customer targeting to drive sales. The solution lets mobile professionals access, modify, and synchronize records in salesforce CRM online or offline in a secure and scalable manner. “Pharma2GO is a solution that lets companies put the best CRM application for the pharmaceutical industry in the hands of their representatives," says Model Metrics CEO Adam Caplan. “Its dynamic features and functions enable pharmaceutical and life-sciences sales representatives to manage visits, track samples, plan routes, and analyze their territory on their laptop or mobile computing device." Pharma2GO includes features and functions that enable pharmaceutical and life- sciences sales representatives to manage visits, track samples, plan routes, and analyze their territory on their laptop or mobile computing device, says Adam Caplan. Kantar Health and ImpactRx have partnered to introduce a tool to assess oncology drug and regimen utilization, providing critical information for all aspects of strategic planning, market analysis, and identification of commercial opportunities. CancerMPact Monthly Drugs and Regimens complements Kantar Health’s CancerMPact Patient Metrics database to create a single, comprehensive source of oncology epidemiology disease and treatment information, projected from active disease patients, which are a true measure of market potential. ONCLink allows a statistically representative panel of oncologists to record their treatment decisions electronically immediately following a patient visit, ensuring precise and timely data. In turn, Monthly Drugs and Regimens provides virtually real-time monthly updates of patient numbers on drug regimens and agents. “From a single, integrated source, clients can access detailed information to fulfill critical data needs for strategic and practical market planning," explains David Robinson, senior director of epidemiology for Kantar Health. Clients can access detailed information to fulfill critical data needs for strategic and practical market planning, says David Robinson of Kantar Health. TGaS Develops Digital Marketing Index TGaS Advisors has launched the Digital Marketing Index (DMI), a solution that measures digital marketing performance with a single number that’s meaningful, easily understood, and keyed to brand strategy and tactical execution. According to TGaS Advisors’ 2009 Digital & Relationship Marketing benchmark data, a typical brand dedicates 20% of its annual budget — about $10 million or more — to digital marketing. “Brand managers and heads of marketing are looking for a simple way to validate their digital marketing performance," says Donna Wray, who heads the company’s digital and relationship marketing practice. “They keep asking what ‘good’ looks like in this fast-changing space and how to optimize the digital marketing channel." The TGaS Advisors DMI is designed to take into account the full range of disparate digital marketing data and metrics, apply a proprietary equation, and generate one simple numerical rating that gives marketing leaders an objective indicator of where they stand in the digital space. The DMI captures a brand’s internal spending and performance data quarter to quarter, distilling 25 fundamental metrics into a single number between 1 and 100, giving brand managers a consistent rating for tracking and reporting a brand’s digital performance internally and ensuring that external agencies and vendors meet expectations. The DMI is derived from volume and efficiency metrics gathered from TGaS Advisors’ quarterly performance benchmark, including such factors as search engine optimization, paid search, banner and display advertising, enrollments, e-mail, and other measures. The index shows the big picture across the brand’s digital performance in relation to a confidential peer-set drawn from 63 brands across 19 leading pharmaceutical companies currently in the benchmark, according to Ms. Wray. The DMI also takes into account a brand’s strategy and investment allocations. Endpoint’s recently launched Pulse platform is a fully configurable system that allows users to design and deploy clinical trial integrated response technology (IRT) systems in a fraction of the time and cost of other providers. Based on a data-driven platform, Pulse is a rules-based engine that can quickly and accurately deploy high-quality IRT systems with a vast set of features. By using the prevalidated functions in the Pulse engine, studies are deployed 40% more quickly and at much less cost. The cost savings is then passed on to the sponsor through a simplified pricing structure. “With Pulse, we have dramatically changed how integrated voice response (IVR/IWR) IRT systems are configured," says Jonathan Dole, co-founder and CEO of Endpoint. “Pulse puts the power in the hands of the program manager, rather than going through the development team, which consumes more time." “The ultimate benefit from Endpoint’s Pulse system is that it allows sponsors of smaller, Phase I studies to deploy a robust IVR/IWR system to manage the study," adds Tom O’Connell, chief operating officer. This is a solution that is delivered in half the time and with unprecedented cost savings, says Jonathan Dole. Sponsors will benefit from studies that save time and money while allowing for more control, says Tom O’Connell. ENDPOINT develops technology platforms for the life-sciences industry. For more information, visit endpointclinical.com. IMPACTRX INC. provides market research and intelligence to track and evaluate the promotional initiatives of the pharmaceutical industry and measure their impact on physician behavior. For more information, visit impactrx.com. INTRASPHERE TECHNOLOGIES INC. is a consulting and software solutions firm focused on the life-sciences industry. For more information, visit intrasphere.com. KANTAR HEALTH is a healthcare-focused primary research and consulting company. For more information, visit kantarhealth.com. MODEL METRICS delivers solutions and services at the cutting edge of the cloud computing industry. For more information, visit modelmetrics.com. PHARMACEUTICAL INSTITUTE, a subsidiary of Campbell Alliance, creates specialized training programs for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. For more information, visit pharmainstitute.com. PPD INC. is a global contract research organization. For more information, visit ppdi.com. TGAS ADVISORS provides benchmarking and advisory services to the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries. For more information, visit tgas.com. Wolters Kluwer Health has relaunched its flagship drug information reference as Facts & Comparisons eAnswers. “The new name better describes our ability to meet the expectations of our customers by providing drug information and answers in multiple electronic formats," notes Arvind Subramanian, president and CEO of Wolters Kluwer Health Clinical Solutions. “While the name has changed, our commitment to providing trusted clinical content and comparative data has not." Facts & Comparisons eAnswers, formerly known as Facts & Comparisons 4.0, provides retail pharmacies and academia with online access to the most up-to-date drug information and medication management tools tailored to their needs, enabling better therapeutic decisions in less time. Along with its new name, Facts & Comparisons eAnswers includes user enhancements. These include features such as an expanded reference menu that now includes immunization schedules, chemotherapy resources, and interaction resources headings; additional secondary menus for toxicology guidelines and five-minute clinical consults; and a redesigned monograph page that includes more secondary menus and direct links to enhance navigation within and between full monographs, subsections, summaries, and off-label indications. In addition, an expanded patient handouts section includes both medication guides and Medfacts patient handouts. For more information, visit wkhealth.com. PainBalance is a new educational initiative that offers quality information, practical tools, and essential resources designed to support healthcare professionals in providing optimal, appropriate care for all patients with pain. Chronic pain is a serious, undertreated public health problem; an estimated 50 million Americans live with chronic pain, more than the number of people with diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined. The PainBalance initiative includes a Web site, painbalance.org, that provides a broad range of information and tools to help healthcare professionals better understand all aspects of pain management. Painbalance.org also includes a series of high-quality, three-dimensional instructional animations that provide easy-to-understand information on the complex aspects of pain and pain management, as well as instructional and presentation materials for doctors to use in mentoring their peers. The PainBalance initiative has been developed through the efforts of leaders in the field of pain management, and is supported by King Pharmaceuticals. “Too often pain patients, and those with chronic pain in particular, continue to suffer because of suboptimal pain management," says Eric Carter, Ph.D., M.D., chief science officer at King Pharmaceuticals. “We are supporting the launch of PainBalance to better equip healthcare professionals with the resources that can be applied directly to the care of their patients to improve pain management and decrease the burden of pain." For more information, visit kingpharm.com. Quotient Bioresearch’s Web site, quotientbioresear h.com, provides visitors with information on Quotient’s service capabilities for advancing drug development, highlighting the company’s focus areas of chemistry and metabolism, clinical, and bioanalytical sciences. “The site provides our clients with an in-depth understanding of how Quotient Bioresearch is uniquely positioned to offer services on a stand-alone basis or within an integrated development program that simplifies the development process and offers reduced timelines and costs," comments Quotient Chairman and CEO Paul Cowan. For more information, visit quotientbioresearch.com. King is supporting the launch of PainBalance to better equip healthcare professionals with the resources that can be applied directly to the care of their patients, says Dr. Eric Carter. The site provides our clients with an in-depth understanding of Quotient Bioresearch, says Paul Cowan. HealthLeaders-InterStudy’s PatientFinder offering is a healthcare analytics tool that assesses local markets for pharmaceutical company expansion opportunities by determining the number of insured patients in a territory who have a specific disease, but are untreated. “PatientFinder is an ideal tool to help pharmaceutical companies identify the territories that will yield the greatest business gain," says Product Director Michael Malecki, Ph.D. “By providing an analysis of treatment rates against local insurance and pharmacy benefit coverage, PatientFinder demonstrates areas of true expansion potential, which is vital to salesforce alignment and growth." For each of the 50 U.S. states and 317 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), PatientFinder provides disease-specific prevalence numbers; an examination of treatment rates for the disease population to create percent-treated and percent-untreated estimates; and analysis of the untreated population examined through a filter of pharmacy benefit coverage. The end result is an estimate of how many patients are untreated but can afford therapy within each territory, the true local measure of opportunity for pharmaceutical companies. With this information, pharmaceutical companies can identify the local markets that offer the greatest opportunity for their brand, as well as markets that are underserved, and determine if they should increase direct-to-consumer advertising, work with the local managed care organizations to increase awareness of the disease and benefits of their drug, or align sales representatives to maximize market potential. For more information, visit hl-isy.com PatientFinder demonstrates areas of true expansion potential, which is vital to salesforce alignment and growth, says Dr. Michael Malecki. THE COGNITION GROUP (TCG) has updated its hardware for the Signal Enhancement System (SES). This technological enhancement allows patient interviews to be recorded and viewed in a more precise, higher-quality format and further improves international CNS clinical trials. For more information, visit cognitiongroup.com. The newest version of ISIRegTracker from IMAGE SOLUTIONS (ISI) incorporates new functionality to help life-sciences organizations gain a total picture of their global product portfolios for better management of their submissions and marketing authorizations, faster responsiveness to regulatory authorities, and streamlined decision-making. ISIRegTracker 4.2 is designed with the goals of improving the quality and reliability of the data being entered into the system; putting actionable information into the hands of decision makers and across a broad range of user communities; and creating a common taxonomy for more effective data sharing throughout the R&D enterprise. For more information, visit imagesolutions.com. OMNICOMM SYSTEMS’ TrialMaster EDC product is now connected to the Microsoft HealthVault personal health application platform. This new functionality streamlines the information flow by enabling health records and data stored in the patient’s HealthVault account to be transferred into TrialMaster for inclusion with other information gathered during clinical trial participation. For more information, visit omnicomm.com. OPTIBRIUM has issued an update of its StarDrop predictive modeling software, designed specifically to help users identify chemistries with a high chance of success and focus expensive in-house resources. StarDrop 4.3 includes a “molecule view" feature that goes beyond traditional table views of data sets, enabling users to drag and drop properties to customize layout for viewing and printing and scroll through their compounds viewing all properties together. Other enhancements include more flexible data set views, direct printing support, and an expanded Auto-Modeller function. For more information, visit optibrium.com. The latest version of ORACLE’s pharmacovigilance solution, Oracle Argus Safety Suite 5.1, includes enhancements to the Oracle Argus Safety, Oracle Argus Insight, and Oracle Argus Perceptive modules incorporated within the suite. The Oracle Argus Safety update provides advanced reporting features, including a full set of dashboards and metrics, as well as new automation functionality for more efficient case processing. Enhancements to Oracle Argus Insight and Oracle Argus Perceptive help support customers’ risk management imperatives and offer a more complete view of drug safety across key areas including risk identification, risk analysis, risk mitigation, and portfolio management. For more information, visit oracle.com. PHARMAVIGILANT has integrated imaging functionality into the new release of I-Vault 2.3. This updated solution, enhanced to handle large files in the 100-to-500 megabyte range, allows sponsors to store, retrieve, and review images, including MRIs with DICOM readers. To ensure proper security and confidentiality, I-Vault 2.3 offers an audit trail that enables sponsors to monitor and identify file uploads and all user activity. For more information, visit pharmavigilant.com. PHASE FORWARD has released version 7.2 of its flagship Empirica Signal tracking and management software with an updated Topic Tracker module. New Topic Tracker features include added support for topic actions, linked topics, additional permissions and administration options for managing workflow configurations, expanded customization options, enhanced quick filters and searching, and new management reports on topic information. For more information, visit phaseforward.com. PHT CORP. has updated its StudyWorks ePRO portal, offering study sponsors improved management and logistical control over their clinical trials. Enhancements include new inventory reports that enable sponsors to track the location of LogPads and SitePads, improved SafetyPRO e-mail alerts, and enhanced data summaries. For more information, visit phtcorp.com. E-upgrades and enhancements
