CLEVELAND, March 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DATATRAK International, Inc. , a technology company focused on global eClinical solutions for the clinical trials industry, today reported that it has posted an extensive report dated March 2006 from Forrester Research entitled, "The Promise Of Next-Gen eClinical Trial Software," on the electronic clinical trials market on its web site located at http://www.datatrak.net. This report is a continuation of an examination of the electronic clinical trials (ECT) market initiated in 2001 and is the next publication in an upcoming series that extensively assesses this exciting and global growth market. DATATRAK will also be included in an upcoming "Forrester Wave" which will quantitatively score suppliers in the ECT market based upon current status, capabilities, and vision for the future.
DATATRAK's view of and direct experience with the ECT market is similar to the opinions represented in the article. The next level of growth in the ECT market will be focused on unified systems that have multiple functionalities for deployment in clinical trials, but importantly are all under a single architecture. This type of structure will avoid the well-known problems and continuing expenses of the "systems" of most providers in this market who have purchased point solutions and then positioned them as integrated platforms. The terminology of "integrated" can many times be an optimistic one, as some of these point solutions are not truly integrated but share information through simple and separately run exports that often require manual setup and formatting which are not scalable environments. Existing under one corporate ownership does not necessarily satisfy the technical term "integrated."
Alternatively, DATATRAK's strategy focuses on resolving the problems of third-party integration by introducing a new terminology to the markets known as a "unified platform." When functionalities are unified, integration is unnecessary, costs are saved on a yearly basis and the user experience is enriched to the point of more rapid and widespread adoption by clinical trial sponsors and users at research sites. As a result of unification of multiple functionalities in clinical trials, the comparatively slow adoption rates observed in this market over the past few years in going from paper to electronic data capture as the first step will likely accelerate in the next step, which will be associated with moving from point solutions to unified platforms.
In this report, DATATRAK was recognized for its high feature breadth and collaboration. Only DATATRAK and one other provider had all capabilities covered except for one. Current development efforts at DATATRAK are focused on fulfilling this capability as well as investigating the synergistic links between electronic patient medical records and centralized eClinical platforms.
"It is pleasing to see the sophistication level in the clinical trials market moving towards technology solutions and we are even more excited that the offering that we have available in the market now is viewed as highly desirable by customers and those knowledgeable about this industry," stated Dr. Jeffrey A. Green, President and Chief Executive Officer of DATATRAK International, Inc. "Our strategy has always been to first deliver and then to 'skate where the puck will be' as we plan several years out. Another area where DATATRAK is a pioneer is when sponsors prefer to 'buy services and avoid wanting to install software.' This question is asked often of us by investors and it is now understood by most that clinical trial sponsors are not software companies. This is completely consistent with our foundational business model of transactional-based trial-by-trial pricing, plus related services that are critical to the success of global clinical trials. Though one should not rule out a licensed approach for the future, especially when you have an entire platform of capabilities, we knew that taking such an approach too early would limit flexibility and diminish value for our shareholders."
DATATRAK International, Inc. is a worldwide technology company focused on the provision of multi-component eClinical solutions and related services for the clinical trials industry. The Company delivers a complete portfolio of software products that were created in order to accelerate clinical research data from investigative sites to clinical trial sponsors and ultimately the FDA, faster and more efficiently than manual methods or loosely integrated technologies. DATATRAK's eClinical software suite can be deployed worldwide through an ASP offering or in a licensed Technology Transfer model that fully empowers its clients. The DATATRAK software suite and its earlier versions have successfully supported hundreds of international clinical trials involving thousands of clinical research sites and encompassing tens of thousands of patients in 56 countries. DATATRAK International, Inc.'s product suite has been utilized in some aspect of the clinical development of 15 separate drugs that have received regulatory approval from either the United States Food and Drug Administration or counterpart European bodies. DATATRAK International, Inc. has offices located in Cleveland, Ohio, Bonn, Germany, and Bryan, Texas. Its common stock is listed on the NASDAQ stock Market under the ticker symbol "DATA." Visit the DATATRAK International, Inc. web site at http://www.datatrak.net.
Except for the historical information contained in this press release, the statements made in this release are forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include the ability of the Company to absorb corporate overhead and other fixed costs in order to successfully market its software; the development and fluctuations in the market for clinical trial technology; the degree of the Company's success in obtaining new contracts; the timing of payments from customers and the timing of clinical trial sponsor decisions to conduct new clinical trials or cancel or delay ongoing trials; governmental regulation; the early stage of the Company's business and operations; and general economic conditions. In addition, the Company's success depends on the outcome of various strategic initiatives it has undertaken, all of which are based on assumptions made by the Company concerning trends in the clinical research market and the health care industry.
DATATRAK International, Inc.CONTACT: Jeffrey A. Green, Pharm.D., FCP, President and Chief ExecutiveOfficer, +1-440-443-0082 ext 112, or Terry C. Black, Chief FinancialOfficer, +1-440-443-0082 ext 110, both of DATATRAK International, Inc.;Neal Feagans of Feagans Consulting, Inc for DATATRAK International, Inc.,Investor Relations, +1-303-449-1184
Web site: http://www.datatrak.net/
