ta-scan by MDC Partners
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News & Events
David Cocker’s Presentation at the 10th Annual SFE & Commercial Excellence Europe 2012
“This year’s SFE brought together some of Europe’s leading commercial innovators in the pharmaceutical space, including excellent keynotes and hard hitting presentations that removed the gloss and placed emphasis on the touch challenges facing Pharma today.
A couple of clear messages emerged:
• Dr. Marc Czarka’s talk on market access and the rapidly changing landscape where governments and patients are going to vet the value of new medicines reaching national markets places new emphasis on patient advocacy and their product perception.
• Emergence of the digi-rep from Roche’s Andreas Claus Kistner, the age of the iPad is upon us and printed material is giving way to apps and animation. But there is more. AstraZeneca’s Florent Edouard closing the complete electronic loop from web to rep, the concept of a seemleass corporate digital eco-system allowing reps to bring the most relevant information to their markets while at the same time gathering compliant feedback to the corporate classification. The traditional CRM concept is inadequate, too expensive and fails to deliver the needs of an evolving market.
• Actelion’s Christoph Schmidt highlighted the challenges in orphan drug specialty selling and precisely described the change in paradigm from primary to specialty care.
Congratulations to the eyeforpharma team, a dynamic and focused group of individuals working hard to bring a diverse and exciting program. For me the bar has been raised and I look forward to next year’s event. “
David J. Cocker
To download a copy of David Cocker’s presentation, please click here.
David Cocker to present at SFE Europe, March 2012
27th – 29th March 2012 | Hotel Rey Juan Carlos I, Barcelona
“Public Disclosure: An Inconvenient Truth”
10th Anniversary SFE & Commercial Excellence Europe
On March 28th David Cocker will be speaking at the SFE Europe & Commercial Excellence 2012 conference in Barcelona in Track 3: Sell More: Engage all your new stakeholders.
Track 3 will concentrate on six sessions including,
- Evolving customers
- Influence HCPs, payers, advocates and patients
- Patient value
- Identification and tracking of KOLs
- Stakeholder Relationship Management
This conference will focus on the evolving needs of the customer through industry’s leading ideas. With over 1000 attendees, 9 tracks and 10 workshops, David will be presenting alongside 70 other handpicked speakers.
To download a copy of the program, please click here.
Press Release - ta-Scan version 3.5 released
Introducing ta-Scan Version 3.5, a semantically driven business intelligence system.
Version 3.5 has a number of very important system enhancements:
• Capture new data such as healthcare professional’s payments
• Complete FDA site inspection data
• Aggregated information on 6,000 EMA medical and scientific experts
• 600,000 research organizations assessed by academic and clinical research pedigree, therapeutic expertise and experience with 14,000 drug classes
• 172 countries assessed for clinical research potential
• 2.6 million healthcare professionals ranked and profiled
Conclusions of DIA Clinical Forum and Presentation Download
“This DIA event was, in my opinion, extremely successful. The DIA departed from the usual themed track approach and created dynamic cross-functional themes which had interesting breakout sessions and expert debates. The standing of the speakers and the delivered content was truly on the mark and participants received expert tips on many industry challenges.
A couple of clear messages emerged from this year’s Clinical Forum:
• The need to realign public trust in the clinical research process. Over 75% of participants voted that our clinical research customers have lost faith in our processes. Trust needs to be rebuilt.
• Patient recruitment still plagues successful trial fulfillment. No real new ideas emerging and social media still seems an evolving strategy, though still awaiting regulatory direction.
• Emerging territories, while offering exceptional commercial potential, clinical research operations are continuing to be challenging and regulatory changes which frustrate many new study initiatives.
• Interestingly, many speakers alluded to the fact that complex and novel clinical research is moving towards the CRO sector. Some conclusions drawn could be that many major companies are mitigating risk by placing projects with experienced CROs when projects fall outside their traditional therapeutic comfort zone.
• Data standardization and electronic healthcare records still seem to be a thorny issue between the US and EU regulatory philosophies. Very much a question of ‘watch this space’.
• More surprisingly there seems to be a developing consensus by the FDA and EMA that the clinical trial process has become too arduous for our investigators. The talk is positive to expedite regulatory processes, though the hard endpoints are a little more elusive.
In general the meeting was multi-disciplinary and cross-functional. Probably one of the better DIA events that I have attended. Secondly, the DIA are attempting to get closer to the patient advocacy groups, who I must say, didn’t pull their punches describing Pharma’s seemingly antiquated clinical trial model. The quote of the conference was “perfect health is just an incomplete diagnosis” from the President of the Alzheimer’s Association.”
David J. Cocker
If you want to download David Cocker’s presentation, please click here.
ta-Scan News Brief
In 2011 we consolidated many exciting features of ta-Scan business intelligence system. The public activation of the EMA, EudraCT trial registry and multiple corporate websites disclosing data has enriched outreach, widened data depth and improved accuracy. But we are not stopping here.
Our open market dialogue has always been the driving force behind our development policies and client feedback has helped shape many improvements that fit with our clients’ evolving business processes.
Major system changes
Significant changes in our robotic foundation will occur towards the end of the 2011. While we are comfortable that our concept provides a sustainable value proposition to our clients, we strive to continually improve the depth and quality of the data.
ta-Scan has always provided a timely snap shot of the worldwide Pharma development space. However, data refreshes always overwrote the previous version. As of October 2011 we will launch DeltaCheck 1.0. This release will time stamp all changes in captured web information. DeltaCheck 1.0 will offer many new advanced algorithms and visualizations. This technology enhancement will benefit our users:
• Monthly update cycle
• Evolution monitoring (a new colour rendering system indicating date and data timeline)
• Enhanced meta-analysis, including trends in all our traditional data classes
• Custom GUI and email alerts
Site selection automation (The Wizards)
The terabytes of public data on the internet today rarely render one clear and faithful picture. However, through our intelligent meta-analysis techniques we expose trends, statistics and enable a user to test multiple planning scenarios based on evidence.
Indexing the indices
The challenge of many web resources is the ability to find what you are looking for. The better the index, the better the search result. ta-Scan has advanced indexing algorithms to pin point references in complex textual information. Whether looking for key words in trial inclusion criteria or novel biomarker, ta-Scan semantically links multiple websites to create a cluster of indices enabling more precise user search criteria.
David Cocker to present at DIA’s 5th Annual Clinical Forum 2011 - 10th - 12th October
10th – 12th October, Basel, Switzerland
Cross-Functional Working for Better Results
Join us on the 11th October 2011 in Basel for the5th Annual Clinical Forum where David Cocker will be presenting Data Mining to make Global Feasibility Assessment more Reliable, Session 3-4 at 09:00. This conference brings together industry leading thinking and practices across the key disciplines of data management, clinical operations, drug safety and medical communication as they relate to the practical and operational aspects of drug development.
Register online | Download Programme
Key Topics
- CDM/eClinical
- Clinical Operations
- Clinical Research
- Drug Safety and Risk Management
- Peri- and Post-Approval Studies
- Validation
- Medical Writing
- Medical Information and Communications
ta-Scan Version 3.4 is now live
ListBuilder 2
We are delighted to introduce the ListBuilder module –accessible from the homepage-, which makes it straightforward to build lists of medical experts, sites or trials based on your specific criteria. Your customized lists will extract data from the ta-Scan central database which has over 2 million individuals and 600,000 organizations. Through a user friendly wizard, you will be able to generate downloadable lists tuned to your needs. The ListBuilder is populated with over 20 useful presets enabling fast access to complex algorithms. We have built an easy to use graphic interface which compresses multifaceted parameters into a one simple graphic dialogue with the user. You can produce lists combining multiple indications and geographies, plot organizations or individuals by therapeutic experience and by time points.
Click here to see more information on ListBuilder 2
Expanded data sources
- Integration of European (EudraCT trial registry), expanding European trial resolution and sponsor activity
- New data sources have been introduced to the system:
Corporate healthcare payment lists
20,000 Healthcare professionals updated
Ancillary information in organization drilldown such as PET scanners - Organizations have now been classified to include CROs (Contract Research Organizations)
- New regional radar graphic for study setup time
- Undisclosed site details from trial registries have now been semantically inferred to identify sites based on factors such as literature and other internet footprint factors
Improved Search Indexes
The search indexes now incorporate a text sensitive search for inclusion and exclusion criteria fields in trial registries. This will enable a user to generate more specific trial lists.
MDCPartners attended the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting 2011
David Cocker attended the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting 2011 which was held in Chicago between June 3rd and 7th. This culminated in the release of ta-Scan V.3.4 which also includes an expanded oncology indication within the platform.
Click here for more information on ASCO.
David Cocker’s DIA presentation on Emerging Markets and Therapeutic Relevance now available
On the occasion of the 23rd DIA Annual Meeting, David Cocker, our Business Intelligence development executive, delivered a revealing presentation on the diverse therapeutic trends in emerging clinical research territories. The lecture was attended by pharmaceutical executives who are challenged by today’s complex global research mix.
David stressed the wide range of companies active in emerging markets, though highlighted the dominance of India and China by the top fifteen companies. Of interest was the sharp decline in the number of US investigators being registered over the last 10 years and the increase in “rest of world” investigators, especially Germany and Italy. However, not only is there movement in where research takes place, but also the size of the companies and therapeutic focus. CNS and pain are increasingly the domain of middle sized companies and these organisations are now pushing outside their traditional geographic regions. Click here to download David’s presentation.
ta-Scan complements version 3.3 release with user side ListBuilder wizard
You can create custom lists in multiple indications and layer people and organisations connected to evidence of clinical research. The ListBuilder wizard has been specifically designed for user ease. A step-by-step wizard format takes you to individual preset queries which allows fast access to ta-Scan data. With this release is also an updated treatment of the Excel spreadsheet download format. For more information view the PDF data sheet.
ta-Scan version 3.3 released
MDCPartners’ ta-Scan v3.3 was released on the 19th February. This latest release addresses many client requests. A revolutionary advance is our new ListBuilder wizard. This feature adds powerful reporting utilities to your desktop. Custom generate precise data based on your criteria. A new look xls-download complements the ListBuilder module. Besides reporting, v3.3 now offers PubLink. This searching tool exploits PubMed in a semantically linked index. Just enter a keyword in PubLink, and see the ta-Scan links to individuals, drugs or organizations.
What’s new in ta-Scan v3.3?
- Re-sculpted start page
- Extended help resources
- PubLink
- ListBuilder v.1
- Bookmark sharepoint
- Worldwide cluster data
An excellent year for the First Belgian Pharmaceutical Conference, hosted by pharma.be and BeAPP
On March 17th we attended The First Belgian Pharmaceutical Conference; a very successful meeting hosted by BeAPP and Pharma.be in Brussels. There were over 290 attendee’s from the world of Pharma, sharing their insights via a range of lectures and presentations. The presentations have been placed on-line for a limited amount of time and can be accessed via the programme on www.pharmaconference.be until 18/4/2011.
David Cocker to present at DIA’s Clinical Trial Registries Conference
23rd-24th May, Basel, Switzerland
Join us on the 24th May 2011 in Basel for the Clinical Trial Registries conference where David Cocker will be presenting The Use of ClinicalTrials.gov and other Databases for Strategic Planning, Session 5 at 09:00. This conference looks at the complex world of clinical trials disclosure and the ever diverging standards required to populate clinical trial registries.
Register online | Download Programme
A decade since the launch of Clinicaltrials.gov, and more recently the EU Clinical Trials Register and the increasing number of national and industry-sponsored registries, many have been left to question the purpose of these multiple registries. Some argue that the original purpose of facilitating the patients’ access to clinical trials has not been met. Others suggest that industry and investors use the databases as competitive intelligence tools.
In order to provide perspective on the challenges faced, the DIA are proud to present a distinguished panel of speakers from academia, patients’ organisations and the pharmaceutical industry from several European and worldwide institutions.
Find out how sponsors ensure the consistency and traceability of all the information submitted to these various repositories and how they organise their processes to deliver the required information in time with limited resources.
Join us to discuss the status of clinical trial registries worldwide and to hear from the authorities that operate them. Listen to real-life implementations in industry and academic institutions and to the voice of the patients and learn about their expectations. Get insights into the development of worldwide information management for registries and discuss with us how worldwide registries can be harmonised and improved.
Key Topics
• Clinical trial registries – Overview of current worldwide situation: EU, USA, WHO
• Overview of national, emerging and company registries
• What purpose do registries serve? How do we measure their success?
• Implementation in practice and technical implementation
• Impact of clinical trial registries on clinical study protocol design
• Publication of results
Recent News
- Posted on April 3rd, 2012David Cocker’s Presentation at the 10th Annual SFE & Commercial Excellence Europe 2012
- Posted on February 23rd, 2012David Cocker to present at SFE Europe, March 2012
- Posted on December 1st, 2011Press Release - ta-Scan version 3.5 released
- Posted on October 14th, 2011Conclusions of DIA Clinical Forum and Presentation Download
- Posted on August 31st, 2011ta-Scan News Brief