Join us at the Drug Information Association’s 46th Annual Meeting (#DIA2010) in Washington, DC on June 13-17.

Health experts from Academic Network will be on hand to discuss our expansive portfolio which includes expert pharmacovigilance and recall/retrieval services. “DIA is among the most established trade group in the industry,” said Don Houghton, Director of Contact Center and Online Operations. “There is no better place than the annual conference to get the exposure, build the relationships, and have the kinds of conversations that happen here.”

Academic Network will attend the conference during the exhibition dates of June 14-17. Please contact Rachel Greben  503-432-4650 to arrange a meeting or informational webinar. View our press release: http://pitch.pe/67961.

A new study released this month by Battelle, the nation’s largest independent nonprofit research and development organization, traces developments in the bioscience industry on a state-by-state and national level.

Released in collaboration with the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), the Battelle/BIO State Bioscience Initiatives 2010 contains the most recent data available and shows that publicly traded bioscience-related companies on the whole generated positive net growth through 2009.

The report is a compendium of national, state and metropolitan data on bioscience employment and growth trends from 2001 to 2008, according to the latest detailed industry data to be released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It also presents a series of key bioscience performance metrics and state policy and program trends that are designed to accelerate the growth of the biosciences.

Oregon has fared well over the past decade. The report found that “The bioscience industry in Oregon has generally outpaced job growth compared with the national sector since 2001. The largest State bioscience subsector is medical devices and equipment (5,565 jobs). Academic bioscience research and development expenditures in Oregon reached $399 million in 2008, led by nearly equal amounts in the biological and medical sciences. Both academic R&D in the biosciences and funding from the National Institutes of Health are well concentrated in Oregon with per capita figures that are above average. NIH baseline funding has increased by 8.7 percent since 2004, and when the additional funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) are taken into account this growth rate reaches 30.4 percent. During the last six years, $109 million in venture capital was invested in State bioscience companies, mainly in pharmaceuticals and medical/health information technology. The 879 bioscience patents issued over the same six-year period were well diversified across fields.”

Executive Summary: http://www.bio.org/local/battelle2010/OREGON_profile.pdf

Oregon Report: http://www.bio.org/local/battelle2010/OREGON_profile.pdf

Social media tools give consumers have an increasingly active voice in monitoring product recalls. How do major brands respond in the face of a recall? This week’s article in the Washington Post considers how companies must deviate from tradition and develop new strategies to respond and communicate to social media-savvy consumers.

Salt has a bad reputation, but what if it’s not so bad for folks in the US or around the world?   That perspective was recently featured in the Science Times Section of the New York Times: (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/science/23tier.html). As John Tierney of the Times quoted Dr. David McCarron, “until unbiased, properly controlled clinical trials are performed, government regulation of salt is unwise and potentially harmful to many individuals.”

Portland, Ore.-based Academic Network expanded its portfolio with the addition of two new clients: Blue Chip Patient Recruitment and OncoGenex in the last quarter of 2009. Academic Network will provide clinical trial recruitment services to ensure rapid and cost effective enrollment for Blue Chip and will provide a compliance and assessment program for OncoGenex.

“Each of these companies exemplifies the strength of new emerging clinical applications,” said Kathleen McCarron, Vice President, of Academic Network. “Academic Network embarks on these relationships with clinical trial expertise and professionalism to expedite clinical trial enrollment and drive their business success.”

Your customers are talking about you online. You want to be fluent in the conversation.

Academic Network, a Stericycle company, has developed an outsourcing online management service targeted to the pharmaceutical, food and beverage industries.  The service includes both an online audit and ongoing reputation monitoring by health professionals trained in medicine, nutrition and identifying adverse events. The service is designed to offer companies an outsourcing solution at a fraction of the cost of building and maintaining an online reputation management system in-house.

Clients use Academic Network’s professional social media staff to monitor and engage with others online, thereby enhancing their brand. “Academic Network has created an outsourcing model to manage the risk and provide the expertise to help companies not only launch a social media campaign but maintain their reputation online at a fraction of the cost,” said Kate McCarron, Vice President of Academic Network.  A successful social media campaign involves dedicated resources to effectively monitor and manage online conversations about a company’s products.  Academic Network’s health professionals provide the expertise to assure that any adverse conversations online are brought to the attention of their clients to protect the safety of their products and customers.

Many companies have started to use social media tools but have not considered the overall costs to build and maintain a successful online program. Academic Network offers an outsourcing solution that will add expertise, while reducing overall costs in equipment, software and staff. The savings incurred mirrors that of traditional call center outsourcing, and takes advantage of the shared resources that Academic Network offers. “We allow companies to focus on their core competencies while maintaining an excellent level of expertise and service” states McCarron.

This flu season promises to be a particularly harsh one, with the entrance of a new strain of Influenza virus: the H1N1, or “swine” flu. Last week alone, CDC has tested 8,268 people positive for Influenza. All subtyped influenza A viruses being reported to CDC were 2009 influenza A (H1N1) viruses. Whereas the typical flu season starts in late November, making the emergence of the H1N1 virus first influenza pandemic (global outbreak of disease) in more than 40 years. Additionally, the flu season has started earlier than usual, with over 13,000 cases of the flu nationwide since August 30th.

The signs of the H1N1 are quite similar to the Seasonal Flu, requiring a test to differentiate between strains.

Seasonal Flu
All types of flu can cause:

o Fever
o Coughing and/or sore throat
o Runny or stuffy nose
o Headaches and/or body aches
o Chills
o Fatigue Similar to seasonal flu, but symptoms may be more severe.

H1N1 Flu
There may be additional symptoms. A significant number of H1N1 flu cases:

o Vomiting
ο Diarrhea

Source: http://flu.gov/individualfamily/about/h1n1/index.html

For both types of flu, symptoms can range from mild to severe.

Despite this new strain of flu virus, CDC’s recommendations to avoid getting sick remain the same:

ο Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
ο Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
ο Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
ο Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
ο Stay home if you are sick until at least 24 hours after you no longer have a fever (100°F or 37.8°C) or signs of a fever (without the use of a fever-reducing medicine, such as Tylenol®).
ο Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other social distancing measures.

Additionally, CDC recommends that those at high risk for contracting either type of Influenza virus be vaccinated. Those groups include:

For seasonal flu:
People who should get the seasonal vaccine each year are:
1. Children aged 6 months up to their 19th birthday
2. Pregnant women
3. People 50 years of age and older
4. People of any age with certain chronic medical conditions
5. People who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities
6. People who live with or care for those at high risk for complications from flu, including:
• Health care workers
• Household contacts of persons at high risk for complications from the flu
• Household contacts and caregivers of children <5 years of age with particular emphasis on vaccinating  contacts of children <6 months of age (these children are at higher risk of flu-related complications

For the H1N1 virus, prioritized groups for vaccination include:
1. People with more severe illness, such as those hospitalized with suspected or confirmed influenza
2. People with suspected or confirmed influenza who are at higher risk for complications
• Children younger than 2 years old
• Adults 65 years and older
• Pregnant women
• People with certain chronic medical or immunosuppressive conditions
3. People younger than 19 years of age who are receiving long-term aspirin therapy

So, remember: When Jack Frost comes nipping at your nose, it’s time to bundle up, keep your hands clean, cover your coughs and get your flu vaccine.

Sources

(2009). Questions and Answers Regarding Estimating Deaths from Seasonal Influenza in the United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/us_flu-related_deaths.htm

(30 October 2009). 2009-2010 Influenza Season Week 42 ending October 24, 2009. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/

(1 October 2009) 2009-10 Influenza (Flu) Season: Questions & Answers about the 2009-2010 Flu Season. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/current-season.htm

(16 October 2009) http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/weeklyarchives2009-2010/weekly40.htm

(2009) H1N1 (Swine Flu). Flu.gov. Retrieved from http://flu.gov/individualfamily/about/h1n1/index.html#prevent

(16 October 2009). Key Facts About Seasonal Flu Vaccine. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/FLU/protect/keyfacts.htm

(23 September 2009). Questions & Answers: Antiviral Drugs, 2009-2010 Flu Season. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/antiviral.htm