The OpenClinica solution for electronic data capture (EDC) will be used in trials in Europe and Israel. Projects run by the Safe-T consortium—a €36 million effort which includes Amgen, Lilly, Novartis and Pfizer—will use the free EDC system to detect drug-induced safety issues. Said Ben Baumann, OpenClinica's director of business development:…more...

India's Wipro, one of the largest IT consulting firms, has built a specialized clinical trial portal for communication and project/document management. "There is an intensifying need in the market for a platform that can centralize information, manage financing, facilitate accurate reporting, automatic scheduling and provide the ease of patient recruitment," the…more...

Aris Global announced two new services. The company said it is partnering with the drug safety services firm Synowledge, which annually processes 60,000 spontaneous safety cases. Separately, Aris announced a simpler, leaner version of a core product that allows faster setup and a la carte pricing. "Subscribers to agOnDemand Swift pay…more...

CRF Health, a patient diary firm, announced that its hardware can now be wirelessly connected to spirometers and glucometers, specialized devices that measure lung function and blood sugars. “CRF Health’s ediary TrialMax platform now integrates with Entra Health Systems’ Bluetooth-enabled MyGlucoHealth wireless meter and Vitalograph’s Asma-1 electronic peak flow meter,” the…more...

Merge bought Ophthalmic Imaging Systems (OIS) for $30 million. "OIS is a recognized leader in ophthalmic imaging and informatics. The OIS solution suite and client base of prominent clinics and hospital networks are an ideal complement to our enterprise imaging capabilities and will be a great addition to our solutions portfolio,”…more...

There's a new imaging technology firm in clinical trials: Radiant Sage. It is based in the Boston suburbs and already able to name Pfizer as a customer. Radiant Sage's solution, trademarked as "Core Lab in a box," enables clinical trial images to be read, managed and archived online, with no IT…more...

The U.S. Army awarded a five-year, $45.5 million contract to PPD. Jargon new to this correspondent: the arrangement is an "indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract." In a statement, the firm said, "PPD's quality assurance and medical writing professionals will ensure regulatory compliance for the U.S. Army's clinical programs and support…more...

Icon’s laboratory group announced a new cytometry service. (Cytometry is a technology to automatically count or analyze cells.) “Clients work with Icon Central Laboratories’ R&D team to develop a unique flow cytometry methodology, customized standard operating procedures (SOPs) and agree on other special requirements, including reporting,” the firm said in a…more...

PPD inked an alliance with Berry Consultants, a premier academic team of biostatistical experts on Bayesian and adaptive trial designs. "There is a strong need across the pharmaceutical industry to continue to evolve the use of flexible trial designs based on predictive modeling and real-time information processing, while continuing to protect…more...

The FDA approved Victrelis, from Merck, as a first-in-class treatment for chronic hepatitis C. Said Bruce Bacon, a professor of internal medicine at St. Louis University School of Medicine: “Compared to current standard therapy, Victrelis can significantly increase a patient’s chance of achieving undetectable levels of the virus. For many patients,…more...