New electronic and web-based applications, sites, and technologies
By Carolyn Gretton
ImpactRx Adds Tablet Detailing to Analytics Offerings Trend: Growing physician adoption of tablet computers is prompting pharma brand teams to design and execute messaging strategies that more effectively employ tablet technology. TabletImpact, an offering from ImpactRx’s consulting analytics practice, provides insight into the execution and impact of details and messages delivered via tablets, enabling brand teams to optimally design and measure the execution and effectiveness of their tablet detailing and messaging strategy. Brian Gibbs, VP, consulting analytics for ImpactRx, notes the company’s research model captures longitudinal information from targeted physicians on the impact of details on prescribing behavior, whether those details are delivered via tablets or other, more traditional means. “Not only can we measure the overall impact of a tablet-delivered detail, but we are also able to drill down into the components of the detail to determine which messages are more effectively delivered with the tablet," Mr. Gibbs explains. “We’ve already noted that certain messages have a greater impact, both positive and negative, when communicated through a tablet." ImpactRx President Greg Ellis adds that company data show a dramatic increase in the use of tablet computers across the detailing landscape. “Considering the substantial investment our clients have made in this technology, it is vital that its impact on physician prescribing behavior be effectively analyzed and evaluated," Mr. Ellis says. { For more information, visit impactrx.com. Global B2B Communications Offers Free Marketing Mix Plan Pharma companies grappling with the recession’s impact on marketing budgets can now apply for a no-cost, mathematics-assisted 2012 online marketing mix plan from Global B2B Communications. The planning tool uses Web-based tools to help measure and gauge the highest ROI for online marketing tactics to reach global niche retail, medical, and consumer markets. Amy Munice, president of Global B2B Communications, says this service is especially timely for any company with a website built before 2009 that is now looking to engineer the development of future markets. “After 2009, local search especially started becoming a major factor affecting website optimization, differently impacting companies that sell locally versus those that sell globally," Ms. Munice says. { For more information, visit globalb2bcommunications.com. In other technology news… The Oracle Health Sciences Translational Research Center is a platform that facilitates the secondary use of healthcare data for both clinical and research organizations, helping to support more personalized, value-based healthcare. The platform enables pharma and biotech companies, CROs, and academic research organizations to normalize, aggregate, and analyze data from internal and external sources to identify new predictive biomarkers, best practices for diagnosis and treatment, and more effective and safe therapies for individuals. “This is an integrated solution built on a proven, scalable, and secure platform that enables all key stakeholders — including researchers, physicians, other clinicians, and biostatisticians — to optimize their unique roles in the translational research continuum," says Neil de Crescenzo, senior VP and general manager, Oracle Health Sciences. { For more information, visit oracle.com. Accelrys has launched its Accelrys Cheminformatics Suite, providing R&D organizations with a robust, end-to-end solution to register, search, mine, and analyze information on chemical structures and reactions, chemically modified sequences, and associated data such as inventory, assay, and analytical results. The Accelrys Cheminformatics Suite features an all-new Web-based chemical registration system that gives scientists a simple, intuitive way to register the molecules they create. “As organizations expand their global networks and increasingly rely on external collaborators, they need updated informatics solutions that are aligned with how they do R&D," says Accelrys President and CEO Max Carnecchia. { For more information, visit accelrys.com. Veeva Systems’ Vault PromoMats solution enables life-sciences companies to manage every step of the promotional material life cycle, from concept and strategy; to the association of claims and reference documents; to medical, legal, and regulatory review; to piece distribution; and to withdrawal. PromoMats is built on the Vault Platform, a cloud-based multi-tenant architecture that’s built from the ground up to meet the industry’s regulatory and validation requirements, such as 21 CFR Part 11. “Promotional materials management is an underserved area that is incredibly important for life-sciences companies, especially when there are many changing regulations that affect promotional materials," observes Jennifer Goldsmith, VP of Veeva Vault. { For more information, visit veevasystems.com. Cmed Technology’s Timaeus Guided Trial Builder (GTB) introduces a new approach to reduce the time and effort required to start up electronic trials. Central to GTB is the Maximal Re-use Template (MRT) approach, which encompasses all the common factors and best practices across a sponsor’s portfolio and places them in one large, validated “super page." MRTs enable rapid build of complete trials, including visit schedules, pages, and complex edit checks, without any need of technical programming knowledge. They automatically ensure adherence to standards and seamlessly validate the trial during the build process, eliminating the need for manual quality control (QC) and hand-offs between teams. Adding Guided Trial Builder to Timaeus’ on-demand deployment capabilities allows study teams to start new trials and perform mid-trial updates at the touch of a button, without downtime or site interruption. “Biopharmaceutical and research companies want e-clinical technology to let them manage more trials with greater speed, higher quality, and without increasing resources," observes Cmed CEO David Connelly, Ph.D. { For more information, visit cmedtechnology.com. Thomson Reuters Cortellis is a next-generation solution that brings together Thomson Reuters’ drug R&D data and the latest information management technology to transform the way pharma and biotech professionals access and use data across the entire drug research and development life cycle. The technology enables companies to access data hosted within Cortellis and merge it with their own data or with public data sources. The solution offers up-to-the minute information on the global drug pipeline, as well as deal information, patent filings, plus industry news and conference coverage, integrated with TIBCO Spotfire visualization and analysis tools. “The way in which the industry wants to use and interact with our information is changing," says Jon Brett-Harris, executive VP at Thomson Reuters. The Cortellis solution is also compatible with mobile devices, including smartphones and tablet devices. This provides a more interactive user experience. { For more information, visit thomsonreuters.com. Kalorama Information has collected its library of market research reports into an online platform that offers users easy access to an exhaustive collection of data and analysis covering worldwide healthcare markets. The Kalorama Information Knowledge Center provides information and marketing professionals with the ability to perform full-text searches of the company’s entire collection of market research reports published since 1998, including all new reports as they are released. The studies cover products, companies, and trends in five broad categories: diagnostics, biotech, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and healthcare. “The information age has overwhelmed businesses; clients have told us that they don’t have time to use all the content available to them," says Bruce Carlson, publisher, Kalorama Information. “With the Knowledge Center, researchers, information professionals, and marketers can employ full-text searching to find the data point or analysis they need to effectively do their jobs." { For more information, visit kaloramainformation.com. Ingenuity Systems has unveiled the Ingenuity iReport, a fully integrated, one-step solution for statistical and biological interpretation of “-omics" data without the need for training, software, statistics, or informatics expertise. The iReport takes raw “-omics" data as input and delivers a customized, interactive report that enables researchers to focus on developing biological insights through exploration and visualization of genes by function, biological process, role in pathway and disease, and cellular location. According to Megan Laurance, Ph.D., iReport is designed for experimental biologists in how it explains and visualizes experimental results in the language of biology, helping bench scientists reach meaningful insights much more quickly. “We are excited to finally be able to put it into the hands of researchers and help move their science forward," Dr. Laurance says. { For more information, visit ingenuity.com. In a bid to increase productive innovation within the pharmaceutical industry, strategic marketing services provider Idea Pharma had launched Idea Collider, a monthly book club hosted live on the company’s website. The goal of Idea Collider is to look further than the pharmaceutical sector for inspiration and ideas by exploring how other industries deal with the same challenges and interviewing those influential people instrumental in driving change. Idea Pharma CEO Mike Rea notes that one of pharma’s biggest challenges in its quest for innovation is the insular perspective held by many companies. “For too long now we have seen the same mistakes being made time and time again, mainly due to the same processes and formulaic practices being adopted," Mr. Rea says. “Idea Collider not only gives us the chance to embrace new concepts, but really challenge them and see how they would work in a pharmaceutical environment. By inviting our industry to join in on discussions, we are hoping that we can offer up new channels of thought and insight." { For more information, visit ideapharma.com/ideacollider. Merck has added medication adherence resources to MerckEngage.com, its consumer health and wellness website, in an effort to help consumers stay on course with their treatment and have more effective conversations with their healthcare professionals about the medicines they have been prescribed. “Medication non-adherence has become a serious public health concern, and is a major reason why patients fail to reach clinical goals," says Sethu Reddy, M.D., VP, U.S. medical affairs for Merck. “We are providing this information to help people understand the importance of taking their medicine as directed." Resources available on MerckEngage.com include the Adherence Estimator, a one-minute, evidence-based survey designed by Merck scientists to categorize patients into three groups — those who are at low, medium, or high risk for not adhering to a newly prescribed medicine. After consumers answer three simple questions regarding their beliefs about a medicine, the tool provides easy-to-understand, personalized information designed to address the patient’s concerns about taking that medication. In addition to the Adherence Estimator, the new site includes a medication worksheet, tips for taking medicine, articles, and links to trusted sites where consumers can find more information about the importance of taking medicines as directed by a healthcare professional. Other areas of MerckEngage.com offer consumers a broad range of free, simple, personalized health information and resources to help improve healthy living. { For more information, visit merckengage.com. PerkinElmer has introduced NexION Enhanced Security (ES) Software, a platform designed to streamline regulatory compliance by pharmaceutical companies. The NexION ES Software platform ensures the integrity of electronic data records generated under industry-standard protocols within pharma research and QA/QC organizations. It is designed to enable researchers and quality control professionals to meet FDA 21 CFR Part 11 regulations through key compliance-centric features. The software platform enables NexION customers to have confidence that their compliance needs are being met while maintaining high productivity. { For more information, visit perkinelmer.com. Staffing and professional services company Randstad has launched InspiringExperts.com, an interactive site designed to encourage students and young professionals to learn about and pursue careers in growth industries such as pharma and the life sciences. Visitors to the site will be able to upload short videos explaining what inspires their work, or how they plan on impacting the world through their jobs when the graduate. The clips will be entered into a voting contest, with a $10,000 scholarship going to a student winner and $5,000 cash to a young professional winner, along with $5,000 to their favorite charity. { For more information, visit inspiringexperts.com. Voalté, a provider of clinical communication technology and software for healthcare institutions, has launched a blog series focusing on nurses, nurse managers, and chief nursing officers. The blog series features Terry Anderson, Voalté’s chief nursing officer, who shares her journey through her blog as she explores the changing world of healthcare technology and offers tips and information for those implementing and using mobile healthcare systems. “This provides an opportunity to share how healthcare professionals can use communication technology to improve patient care," Ms. Anderson says. “I’m excited to share my experiences and lend support to those in the field who may be struggling with using technology in healthcare settings, especially smartphones and tablets." { For more information, visit voalte.com. West Pharmaceutical Services, a provider of solutions for injectable drug administration, has introduced an online seal color configurator that helps authenticate a customer’s product through tamper-evident flip-off seals. With a few simple clicks, the configurator allows users to select a separate color for the flip-off button and for the aluminum shell to create a unique flip-off seal combination that supports a customer’s brand and establishes product identity in a competitive market. A sample label color can be selected to help customers match the seal to their primary and secondary labeling schemes. “Using the configurator, customers can create a truly unique look for their vial closure system that may facilitate easy, visual identification for their product in the marketplace," says Carol Mooney, associate director, marketing injectable container solutions for West. { For more information, visit westpharma.com. Roska Healthcare Advertising has updated its website to illustrate how the midsized, independent agency has defined and refined new approaches to marketing to consumers and healthcare professionals. “We updated our website to help clients get a more complete picture of how the Roska Healthcare approach can amplify brand growth and development over time while sparking interactions with target audiences that create engagement," explains Roska President and CEO Jay Bolling. { For more information, visit roskahealthcare.com Accelrys has announced two updates to its suite of R&D software applications. ACCELRYS CHEMICAL REGISTRATION 3.0 is a Web-based application that supports zero-install deployment. Graphically built Pipeline Pilot protocols make the application easy to configure and extend to satisfy business and application requirements, while built-in Web service capabilities streamline scientific workflows by enabling scientists to register molecules directly from other software applications. ACCELRYS DIRECT 8.0 enables multidisciplinary project teams to explore novel macromolecu ar sequences and chemical structures stored in a single corporate registry. The latest version of Accelrys Direct also integrates enhancements derived from the Accelrys Pipeline Pilot and Accord cartridges to enhance scalability. { For more information, visit accelrys.com. BBK Worldwide, a provider of patient recruitment services for clinical trials, has unveiled DOCMANAGER V2, developed in response to industry demand for secure, Web-based systems devoted to managing timely and cost-efficient translation, regulatory approvals, and distribution of patient recruitment and retention materials around the world. DocManager v2 facilitates optimal workflow within a closed and secure Web-based environment and ensures that documents are organized for various levels of review to avoid common, time-consuming pitfalls that delay project implementations. { For more information, visit bbkworldwide.com. M-Files has released M-FILES 8.0, the newest edition of its document management solution. This latest version delivers powerful new features such as access via popular mobile devices, regulatory compliance support, comprehensive reporting and analysis capabilities, versatile automated permission management, and enhanced search functionality. { For more information, visit m-files.com. Oracle Health Sciences has introduced OUTCOMELOGIX ON DEMAND 3.0, a Web-based, scalable data collection system that enables life-sciences companies and contract research organizations to capture accurate therapy outcome information from healthcare providers, as well as patients in late-stage studies. The newest version incorporates several features that help meet increasing requirements to improve product safety and demonstrate long-term treatment efficacy. { For more information, visit oracle.com. PharmaVigilant has introduced I-VAULT 2.6, the latest version of its electronic trial master file system. The latest release includes enhancements that address sponsors’ needs in customized workflow, bulk imports, and improved reporting, as well as barcode-recognition technology that will read barcodes from scanned files. { For more information, visit pharmavigilant.com. Projecis, a content software and video services company, has upgraded its flagship cloud-based project management platform. Release 1.5 of Projecis allows teams to upload files and view file contents for various file formats within the software and supports PDF files, Microsoft Office documents, images, and other formats. Multiple file versions can be uploaded and maintained, and all file versions are monitored to track when and who has accessed any file. { For more information, visit projecis.com. Sparta Systems has launched a set of enhanced Web service capabilities for its TRACKWISE enterprise quality management software. The new functionality in the latest release of the TrackWise solution reduces user administrative burden for global organizations in highly regulated industries, enabling efficient and effective management of accounts and permissions across quality and compliance processes. The latest release also includes a broad range of document control functions that enable the transfer of attachments via a Web service to other enterprise applications. { For more information, visit spartasystems.com. Take Solutions has extended its safety and pharmacovigilance services through the launch of SAFETYREADY for Oracle customers. The solution helps accelerate implementation for life-sciences organizations looking to jump-start safety and pharmacovigilance adoption efforts and operations planning. { For more information, visit takesolutions.com. E-UPGRADES AND ENHANCEMENTS
