New service offers consumers personalized safety information, alerts on
prescription drugs
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Aug. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Quintiles
Transnational Corp. today announced that Hugo Stephenson, M.D., has been
appointed as president of iGuard, effective immediately. Stephenson will be
leading the company's new service that offers personalized safety
information and alerts to patients on the prescription drugs they are
taking. In this role, Stephenson reports directly to Stephen DeCherney,
M.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer.
Prior to his appointment as president of iGuard, Stephenson had been
Senior Vice President of Quintiles' Strategic Research and Safety services,
a position he held since joining the company in 2003. Stephenson was the
founder of Health Research Solutions, an Australian strategic research
service provider acquired by Quintiles in 2002. He has a particular
interest in strategic epidemiology and risk management, and he works
closely with senior industry strategists to promote the use of strategic
research activities to support advances in pharmaceutical research.
He is the author of Strategic Research: A Practical Handbook for Phase
IIIB and Phase IV Clinical Studies, and has written and co-authored many
articles. He holds degrees in medicine and surgery from the University of
Melbourne.
iGuard offers patients and physicians access to timely, personalized
drug safety ratings and alerts. To receive the personalized alerts,
patients enroll in iGuard through the Web site, http://www.iguard.org, and
follow a simple series of steps to become part of a membership network.
Patients create a secure personalized iGuard profile that includes
questions about their demographics, medications and conditions which could
impact their drug risks.
"We're capitalizing on Hugo's expertise in the area of risk management
and the demand for consumer involvement in monitoring the safety of drugs
that are on the market," said Dr. DeCherney.
The current U.S. drug safety monitoring system relies on physicians to
voluntarily report any serious drug reactions. Physicians are expected to
identify "signals" that a medication might be causing adverse events.
However, it is estimated that only a small percentage of physicians file
reports to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's postmarketing
surveillance program, known as MedWatch. An FDA analysis found that
pharmacists and consumers each filed more MedWatch reports than did
physicians in 2004.
With iGuard, if a serious side effect is suspected based on the
information provided by the patient, iGuard sends an FDA MedWatch form to
the patient which they are instructed to give to their physician. In this
way, iGuard empowers the patient to signal when a suspected adverse event
occurs.
"iGuard will serve as a conduit for communication about drug safety,"
said Stephenson. "I believe that iGuard will contribute to improving our
systems for gathering and disseminating information about drugs consumers
are taking daily."
About iGuard
iGuard is fastest and easiest way for patients to get information and
safety updates on the drugs they are taking. This drug safety monitoring
program facilitates bi-directional exchange of timely and relevant
information, enabling patients to take an active role in managing their
health. iGuard maintains an efficient communication channel where patients
and health professionals can monitor, evaluate and share information about
drug risks and benefits. Registration is free online at
http://www.iguard.org.
About Quintiles
Quintiles Transnational Corp. is powering the next generation of
healthcare by providing a broad range of professional services in drug
development, financial partnering and commercialization for the
biotechnology and healthcare industries. With 19,000 employees and offices
in more than 50 countries, it is focused on providing customer-centric
solutions that are the gold standard of the industry. For more information,
please visit the company's Web site at http://www.qtrn.com.
SOURCE Quintiles Transnational Corp.
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Related links:
http://www.iguard.org
http://www.qtrn.com http://www.quintiles.com
CONTACT:
Mari Mansfield, Media Relations of Quintiles
Transnational Corp., +1-919-998-2639, office, +1-919-259-3298,
mobile, mari.mansfield@quintiles.com
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