MDS updates clinical trial management software

The software, first released in 1993, aids in trial set-up, data capture, project tracking and personnel credential management, and has already been used in more than 3,000 studies involving more than 100,000 patients. One of the key features of the electronic data capture system is that it significantly reduces the amount of manual data entry. In this latest incarnation, the software has been updated to include a more user-friendly interface, improved menu navigation and a "more robust​" data platform, according to MDS. This new platform is expected to enable faster and more flexible reporting and will ultimately allow clients to access their data via the Internet. MDS maintains that use of ClinQuick can cut clinical trial costs by a third when compared to traditional paper-based case report forms (CRFs), used by trial sponsors to collect and document data from each participating clinical research site. Recent research from Frost & Sullivan revealed that the clinical trial management software (CTMS) market generated revenues of $237.6m in 2007 and is expected to grow at a rate of 14.5 per cent a year until 2014. In these times of market competitiveness, CROs are constantly looking to gain a business edge. Using new technologies to shorten project timelines, improve data quality and lower overall cost is one way of achieving this. MDS says its ClinQuick system facilitates rapid data cleansing and client monitoring for seamless operation of both single and multi-site studies. The company also said that the new ClinQuick accelerates timelines, enables accurate direct data acquisition, and reduces costs by a third compared to traditional paper case report forms - the forms used by clients to collect and document data from each participating clinical research site. David Spaight, president of MDS, said: "Our investment to enhance the ClinQuick system builds on that legacy of success and will allow us to meet growing client demand for early clinical research services while maintaining our leadership position in Phase I. This next-generation ClinQuick system will further improve our ability to deliver high quality Phase I services on time." Bigger in Japan ​ Meanwhile, MDS has also opened an office in Japan to tap into the growing market for contract services in the world's second-largest pharmaceutical market. The new MDS Pharma Services site is located alongside Molecular Devices Japan, part of the MDS Analytical Technologies business unit, in downtown Tokyo. The company said the new office "will allow MDS Pharma Services to better serve the Japanese pharmaceutical and biotechnology markets, and further enable growth opportunities both in Japan and in the broader Asia-Pacific region​." The new office joins an extensive network of MDS Pharma Services locations in the region, including global central lab facilities in Singapore and Beijing, discovery and preclinical operations in Taiwan, and late stage clinical trial monitoring offices in Beijing, Malaysia and Australia.