ACADEMIA

Cognos today announced the launch of two new performance solutions designed to help pharmaceutical companies improve clinical trials management and optimize sample distribution across the sales force to better meet corporate revenue targets. Clinical trials represent one of the biggest direct-spend components in most pharmaceutical R&D budgets. The new Cognos Clinical Trial Forecasting Blueprint helps pharmaceutical companies better anticipate clinical trial resource requirements and accompanying expenses in order to comply with FDA filing requirements. Capitalizing on the robust multi-dimensional modeling and integrated workflow capabilities of Cognos 8 BI and the new Performance Blueprint, organizations can more accurately forecast, plan and manage trial expenses; recognize and correct under-performing clinical trials; consolidate all trials to facilitate enterprise-wide visibility and analysis; and drive greater accountability and control at each stage of the trial. Another significant pain point for pharmaceutical companies is the inability to determine the right mix of sample resources to allocate to their sales force in order to meet overall prescription volume growth targets. The Cognos Sample Optimization Blueprint enables pharmaceutical executives to develop and implement sample allocation plans that are in line with corporate revenue objectives. By providing an automated and consistent vehicle to solicit input from all stakeholders -- including finance, sample administrators, brand managers, and operations managers -- the Blueprint helps organizations build optimal sample distribution strategies that take into account current market conditions, field level information, inventory plans, and other corporate goals. Developed by the Cognos Innovation Center for Performance Management, the new Clinical Trial Forecasting and Sample Optimization Blueprints are targeted, pre-built data, process and policy models based on proven best-practices in pharmaceutical operations planning, budgeting and forecasting. These Blueprints equip customers with all of the necessary technology and process design choices, enabling them to synchronize and coordinate financial and operational plans in order to make better resource allocation decisions. "High performance pharmaceutical companies require superior visibility and control of complex, mission critical processes like clinical trials and sample allocation planning in order to stay competitive in this fast paced industry," said Bill Stevens, senior director of life sciences solutions at Cognos. "CRM and ERP systems do not offer the right level of granularity to enable informed decision-making, and spreadsheets are not an option given how difficult it is to gain a consolidated view of information for cross-functional monitoring and planning. Our new Performance Blueprints offer best practice knowledge from the Cognos Innovation Center, together with best-in-class enterprise planning and business intelligence capabilities." Clinical Trial Forecasting and Sample Optimization are the first in a series of life sciences-specific solutions planned by Cognos. To date, Cognos offers a full suite of Performance Blueprints that cover a wide spectrum of planning and performance management process areas, such as strategic financial planning and forecasting; sales planning and forecasting; workforce planning; expense planning; and capital expenditure planning. Cognos Performance Blueprints are a key component within the Cognos Performance Management System, which brings together technology, best practices, analytical applications and a broad network of partners into a single performance management solution. Clinical Trial Forecasting and Sample Optimization Blueprints are available immediately to Cognos customers. Cognos is a recognized leader in delivering performance management solutions for the pharmaceutical industry. Currently, 24 of the top 30 pharmaceutical firms rely on Cognos performance management software. Customers include Kos Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, Bayer UK, and Quintiles Transnational. For more information about Cognos solutions for pharmaceuticals, please visit its web site.