IDRAC: A NEW SERVICE FROM IMS

IMS International has unveiled its new service for the pharmaceutical industry, IDRAC (International Drug Registration Assisted by Computer).

IMS describes IDRAC as a high-technology tool to assist in drug development and regulatory affairs, aimed at assisting quality control, cutting the time to market for new drugs and facilitating international communications on regulatory matters. All official texts governing drug development and registration in European Community countries have been analyzed, organized and then drawn together in IDRAC, with comments and practical advice.

Based on a hierarchical organization of information similar to that of a paper registration file, regulatory texts are presented in a practical way, also allowing country-to-country comparison, says IMS. Using "hyperlinks," users can start from a particular entry in the IDRAC database and then to navigate from text to text and/or country to country until all relevant texts on the subject have been extracted. Each text in turn is electronically cross-referenced to all the topics to which it refers. Elements of the IDRAC database are enhanced with expert comments from the field, and can be further enhanced with user's notes. In this way, says IMS, IDRAC can become a receptacle for the "regulatory memory" of an organization.