Medimix International Launches TARGET (TM) - Tool for Adverse-event Reporting Globally by Electronic Transfer
Miami, August 29th, 2008
Medimix International, provider of advanced marketing research for the life science industry, announced today that it is launching TARGET™ (Tool for Adverse-Event Reporting Globally by Electronic Transfer), a new service available to its clients and its online community of healthcare professionals.
The objective of TARGET™ is to offer a pro-active and pragmatic approach to the question of Adverse Event (AE) reporting in Healthcare Marketing Research.
For several years, medical authorities in the US, Europe, and other regions have developed strict guidelines that must be followed by the Pharmacovigilance and Drug Safety teams of pharmaceutical companies. If a pharmaceutical company employee identifies an “Adverse Event” mentioned by a healthcare practitioner or a patient, the guidelines require that it be reported to the local medical authorities.
Marketing research agencies specializing in the healthcare sector are often being asked now to report any “Adverse Events” identified during the research process to the pharmaceutical company sponsoring the survey.
This poses a considerable challenge, since surveys are being conducted in many countries simultaneously with rapid turnaround. Most of the time agencies struggle to comply with this request or charge an expensive premium to cover the cost of reporting this information. On the other hand, marketing research executives in pharmaceutical companies are sometimes left without solutions from their vendors and are not able to provide a satisfactory method that would at the same time respond to regulatory requirements, protect their company’s interests and
comply with marketing research standards.
In an effort to help its pharmaceutical clients in this endeavor, Medimix International has taken the initiative to develop TARGET™, a centralized reporting system available on Medimix’s global net-centric platform.
The concept is simple: anytime an Adverse Event is suspected during the course of a marketing research survey, healthcare professionals have the option to press the TARGET™ icon on Medimix Platform, which links them to a short Adverse Event Report questionnaire. Once they fill in this questionnaire and submit it for review, it is immediately communicated to Medimix’s Medical Director, who validates the content of the report and communicates it to the company sponsoring the study. For patient chart reviews or diary surveys, automatic triggers can be programmed, so that healthcare professionals will be prompted to the Adverse Event Reporting
questionnaire, even if they have not initially identified it.
The report questionnaire used in TARGET™, complies with regulatory standards by ensuring
that the four following criteria are met:
• Adverse Events are clearly described as an identifiable reaction/effect
• Adverse Events are identified as being linked to a specific drug
• Adverse Events are provided by an identifiable reporter (healthcare professionals)
• Adverse Events are linked to an “identifiable patient” - (but not named)
Reporters can choose whether or not they want their names disclosed to the survey sponsor, which also makes the tool compliant with marketing research standards.
The central reporting to Medimix International’s Medical Director allows for a fast, but thorough evaluation by a medical expert, before submitting any potential Adverse Events to the survey sponsor. Medimix employees have also engaged in training on additional, specific Adverse Event Reporting guidelines which are often required by pharmaceutical manufacturers.
“Thanks to Medimix’s net-centric interviewing platform, which allows for Online, CATI or CAPI interviews all around the world, TARGET™ provides an opportunity to obtain feedback from healthcare professionals in real-time. Medimix is in direct contact with most of the respondents they interview in more than 50 countries. Therefore, we are talking “expert to expert”, which minimizes the possibility of misevaluation of adverse events,” comments Henry Gazay, CEO of Medimix International.
TARGET™ is an optional tool that can be added to any particular survey. Pharmaceutical companies can decide to use or not use this tool, depending on the nature of the survey and the countries involved. Medimix recommends it in particular for patient chart surveys conducted in Europe but has already used it in the US and some Asian countries.
TARGET™ is also available to the healthcare professionals who are members of Medimix online community. “This is in line with basic rules of pharmacovigilance,” comments Teresa Schoor, Medical Director of Medimix International, who was formerly Director of Clinical Trials for one of the Top 10 pharmaceutical companies.
”If a healthcare professional wants to voluntarily report an Adverse Event, it is better to have a standardized tool. We used to receive comments from physicians about potential Adverse Events, but not all of them proved to be valid. We felt it was good practice to propose a standard method to report, that would be in line with our mission of marketing research. We have been contacted by many pharmaceutical executives searching for a simple and reliable solution for Adverse Event reporting in marketing research. TARGET™ offers a complete and easy solution
for them, without any hassle”.
For more information about TARGET™ and how it can be used in your marketing research surveys, or to see a demonstration of this tool, do not hesitate to contact Kathryn McAdam at kmcadam@medimix.net.
About Medimix International
Medimix International is a dynamic provider of advanced marketing research solutions for the
healthcare industry worldwide. Medimix’s proprietary panel provides direct access to over
500,000 physicians and healthcare professionals from around the world, making it one of the
largest panels in the industry. Medimix specializes in global research. Learn more at
www.medimix.net.
