Almac has announced it has relaunched its interactive voice and Web response (IVR/IWR) system to help small and mid-sized pharmaceutical companies spend less money on both randomization and drug supply management.
The IVR/IWR system was formerly known as WebEZ but has now been renamed aXcess, according to the Northern Ireland, UK-based company. aXcess is a Web-based platform that helps pharmaceutical companies automate the selection of patients for randomized trials, eliminating the headaches of paper trails, the company said in a press release.
“The new IVR/IWR system, aXcess, coupled with our clinical packaging and distribution bundle, gives companies who would typically utilize a paper-based approach to randomization and supply chain management an alternative option,” said Donna Christopher, vice president, operations, in the press release. “This option more effectively manages the trials our clients are conducting at a cost that works within their budgetary restrictions.”
Randomized trials mean patients are assigned to different groups by chance rather than choice.
Clinpage.com reports that Almac said in a statement, “Almac’s intuitive and user-friendly aXcess system gives clients the full benefit of a web-based randomization system, including state of the art reporting functionalities, shorter timelines for system build, and a price point to fit tight study budgets.”
Over the last 15 years, healthcare organizations have begun to use IVR and IWR more and more, notes the European Compliance Agency (ECA). Originally developed to improve drug availability at sites, the systems came to include other areas such as “dose titration, unblinding and expiration date updating,” according to the ECA.
Pharmaceutical companies depend on clinical trials to verify the safety and effectiveness of drugs under development. But often, this testing can be very costly.
Drugs must undergo three stages of testing for safety and effectiveness before they can be approved by the FDA. According to the Web site, phase III trials are the largest and most expensive, usually lasting more than a year and having hundreds or even thousands of participants.
Edited by
Rich Steeves
