Using Marketing Expertise to Propel Timely and Successful Clinical Trials.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 27, 2003

Intensifying competition within the pharmaceutical industry drives companies to improve the clinical trial process by developing an effective communication plan.

According to a

"Best Practices in Clinical Study Communication", available at http://www.benchmarkingreports.com/r/r460.htm, reveals how pharmaceutical leaders employ marketing techniques and resources to develop positioning statements, target lists and communication plans for clinical studies. For example, benchmark companies conduct market research to create investigator profiles, review epidemiological and demographic data to rank sites by patient access, and apply competitive intelligence to determine site usage by competitors.

Drawn from in-depth interviews with executives at nine pharmaceutical companies, six contract research organizations and eight study sites, "Best Practices in Clinical Study Communication" maps the operational pathway to clinical communications success, by exploring:

-- Effective targeting of patients and study sites

-- Expansive recruitment and preparation of study sites

-- Optimum patient recruitment and retention

"Competing for clinical investigators has become a critical issue for pharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations," says Paul Meade, vice president of Best Practices, LLC. "Getting the right message to the right investigator at the right time is the key to success in conducting clinical trials."

Download a summary of "Best Practices in Clinical Study Communication," at http://www.benchmarkingreports.com/r/r460.htm. For more information about this report or other benchmarking reports, contact David Burton at (919) 767-9259 or at dburton@best-in-class.com.

ABOUT BEST PRACTICES, LLC

Best Practices, LLC is a pharmaceutical research and consulting firm that conducts work based on the principle that organizations can chart a course to superior economic performance by studying the best business practices, operating tactics and winning strategies of world-class companies. For more information, call 919-403-0251 or visit http://www.best-in-class.com/