CenterWatch launches wireless PDA access to clinical trials information



According to CenterWatch the new databases allow research and healthcare professionals to gain access to information about investigational drugs and active clinical trials at the point of patient care. This information is designed to assist professionals in determining treatment programs and in identifying potential clinical trials for their patients.

The CenterWatch-Mobile is made up of three databases that include; detailed listings of more than 8,000 ongoing industry-sponsored clinical trials; summary descriptions of hundreds of drugs recently approved by the FDA; and more than 1,500 profiles of drugs in a phase I III clinical trials.

"We are very excited about our ability to offer these information resources in a flexible, wireless format for hand held devices," said Paul Molinari, Manager of Business Development for CenterWatch. "Ultimately, this format will assist physicians, health professionals, researchers and consumers in conveniently staying informed about treatment options."

CenterWatch developed CenterWatch-Mobile in collaboration with Synteract, a contract services company that develops Web, wireless and voice data solutions for the clinical trials industry.

"Our wireless group put a tremendous effort into developing the CenterWatch-Mobile application," said Russell Holmes, Executive Vice President of Synteract. "Currently, the product works on Palm OS devices, and further work will commence on porting to other devices, such as Pocket PC and web phones."

"Given the clinical professionals growing need for portability, CenterWatch-Mobile is an important set of resources for Palm users," said Molinari. "Instead of spending 15 minutes investigating a printed index or surfing through a website, clinical professionals may search any one of these resources whenever and wherever they need to and know that the information is up to date."