THOMSON SCIENTIFIC SETS PACE IN OFFERING CRITICAL WORKFLOW SOLUTIONS TO GLOBAL PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY

Analytical Tool Helps Make Critical 'Go/No Go' Decisions

 

Philadelphia, PA, USA-London, UK - July 18, 2005 — From R&D to discovery to marketing, Thomson Scientific (a business of The Thomson Corporation) is setting the pace in offering critical workflow solutions to the global pharmaceutical industry. One such strategic tool is The ASTROLABE Message Mapping SystemTM.

The ASTROLABE Message Mapping System

Pharmaceutical companies expend approximately $800 million spent to bring a new drug from concept to the marketplace, leaving executives looking for ways to better control these costs.

The ASTROLABE Message Mapping System is a strategic analytical tool that measures company’s drug marketing messages as well as messages from competing products occurring in the critical scientific literature from the point of view of the prescribing physician. Focusing on the messages that impact treatment and prescribing habits, the Astrolabe system assigns an evidence-based credibility score and aggregates a range of key message metrics to deliver more than 60 graphic and statistical key analyses.

“By early 2006, Thomson plans to integrate the ASTROLABE Message Mapping System with the Thomson PharmaSM information solution,” said Lawrence Liberti, General Manager for Thomson’s Astrolabe Analytica business. “Pharmaceutical company executives have been looking for tools they can use to help them make critically important ‘go/no go’ decisions. This is precisely what the Astrolabe Message Mapping System is designed to do.”

The Thomson Pharma Information Solution

Thomson Pharma is the dynamic information solution for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. It features the most essential scientific, patent, and financial content offered by Thomson businesses. This indispensable content is enhanced with powerful search tools and integrated into a single solution that professionals working at all stages of drug development can personalize to suit their needs.

Conceived and designed based on customer feedback, Thomson Pharma provides researchers and other professionals in the fields of biology, chemistry, licensing, business development and competitive intelligence with the cutting-edge tools needed to make better decisions faster—whether at a start-up biotech business or a large pharmaceutical corporation.

“Pharmaceutical companies are faced with a growing need for timely, accurate and complete information and collaborative analytical tools,” said Angus Metcalfe, vice president of Sales at Thomson Scientific. “The development of Thomson Pharma was based on our understanding of these needs and we continue to add functionality and content by internal development and acquisition in order to respond to the increased demand for consolidated integration.”


Thomson Reuters (www.thomsonreuters.com), with 2005 revenues of approximately $8.5 billion, is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers. Thomson provides value-added information, software tools and applications to more than 20 million users in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher education, reference information, corporate e-learning and assessment, scientific research and healthcare. With operational headquarters in Stamford, Conn., Thomson has approximately 40,500 employees and provides services in approximately 130 countries. The Corporation’s common shares are listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC).

Scientific is a business of Thomson Reuters. Its information solutions assist professionals at every stage of research and development—from discovery to analysis to product development and distribution. Thomson scientific information solutions can be found at www.scientific.thomson.com.