Press Release

New IDC Health Insights Report Reveals Increased Demand Across Life Science Industry for Electronic Data Capture Solutions

FRAMINGHAM, Mass., July 1, 2009 – According to a new research study published by IDC Health Insights, the use of commercial electronic data capture (EDC) solutions in the life sciences industry continues to grow as companies seek to more quickly and effectively collect and use clinical data to accelerate time to market for new drugs and devices. As part of the broader eClinical value chain, EDC has typically been the initial entry point into eClinical solutions, resulting in the growth of a wide variety of commercial vendors in the space, according to the new report. This growth is also supported by the projected growth in EDC adoption by the industry, with continued adoption beyond the greater than 50% use of EDC in new clinical trials estimated in 2008.

The IDC Health Insights report, Market Analysis: The Health Industry Insights eClinical Buyer's Guide, Part 1, Electronic Data Capture (Doc #HI218763), lays out the broader eClinical ecosystem and then deeply probes the capabilities and experience of representative commercial EDC vendors in the life science industry.

"Progress in the adoption of eClinical solutions are advancing despite the current economic crisis and ongoing retrenchments within the life sciences industry, in large part due to increased efforts within companies to improve operational effectiveness," said Dr. Alan Louie, a research director with IDC Health Insights. "EDC and the broader eClinical solution offer significant opportunities to speed up the overall clinical development process, enable greatly improved procedural efficiencies, and save both near and long term costs."

To choose from among the myriad of different commercially available EDC options, IDC Health Insights believes that life science customers need to be able to differentiate EDC vendors based on their specific needs and requirements to pick the right solution.

Other key findings from the report include:

• Key differentiation criteria between EDC vendors include: size, revenue, phase-specific expertise, region-specific expertise, and breadth of available bundled offerings;
• Based on size and revenue, Phase Forward and Medidata are the dominant EDC vendors in the industry, and;
• Smaller EDC vendors can be highly competitive with the major vendors. They have achieved this by focusing on specific industry segments and successfully differentiating themselves in the market.

"In this increasingly complex, global life science ecosystem, companies need to carefully determine how EDC and broader eClinical solutions can meet their clinical development needs," continued Dr. Louie. "Smaller life science companies, in particular, should take notice, since it is becoming increasingly possible to exploit eClinical solutions directly to perform their own clinical trials."

For additional information about this study, or to arrange a one-on-one briefing with an IDC Health Insights analyst, please contact Sarah Murray at 781-794-3214 or sarahbethmurray@gmail.com. Reports are available to qualified members of the media. For information on purchasing reports, contact insights@idc.com; reporters should email sarahbethmurray@gmail.com.

IDC Health Insights

IDC Health Insights provides health and life sciences industry executives, and the suppliers who serve them, with market research and advisory services. The company's integrated coverage spans the entire health industry value chain and closely follows the payer, provider and life sciences markets with special emphasis on developing and employing strategies that leverage IT investments to maximize organizational performance. Staffed by expert analysts and consultants with extensive industry experience, IDC Health Insights delivers a portfolio of offerings that are relevant to both IT and business needs. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research and events company. For more information, go to www.healthindustry-insights.com.

For more information, please contact:

Sandra Collins
scollins@idc.com
508-988-6746

Sarah Murray
sarahbethmurray@gmail.com
781-794-3214