Almac to Demonstrate New Patient Management Services at the Euro DIA and Partnerships in Clinical Trials Conferences

SOUDERTON, Pennsylvania, March 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Almac announced today that its Clinical Technologies business unit, a global leader in clinical trial management, will launch a suite of new services designed to improve patient compliance and retention in clinical trials. The new services will be demonstrated at the DIA's 23nd Annual EuroMeeting located in Berlin, Germany, 27-28 March and at the Partnerships in Clinical Trials Conference in Phoenix Arizona, 30 March 30 - 1 April . Almac is a leading provider of IXRS(R) (Interactive Voice and Web Response) services for patient and drug supply management. Recently, Almac has enhanced its offerings by forming an exclusive integrated trial management alliance with Exco InTouch, an innovative firm specializing in patient recruitment, retention, compliance, and ePRO services.

The joint Almac-Exco InTouch service offering enhances patient retention and compliance through the use of multiple technologies, such as SMS text messages and emails. The technology reminds patients to complete key elements of their required study obligations, such as taking medication, attending appointments, fasting prior to laboratory testing, filling out diaries, and others, while also collecting reasons for non-compliance. Almac is ideally suited to deliver this new suite of services by combining its industry leading IXRS(R) technology (used to screen, enroll, and randomize patients into clinical trials) with the Exco InTouch patient reminder capabilities. Working with sponsors on clinical trials, Almac will develop study-specific patient retention and compliance programs that will begin immediately upon randomization into the trial and remain in effect until the trial is completed.

Almac Vice President of Business Development, Geri Beyer comments on the launch: "We are very excited to offer the first-ever demo of this unique integrated service line which will revolutionize the future of patient and trial management for sponsors. With the increasing number and complexity of trials that Almac is managing across the globe, we are pleased to offer innovative and cost-effective technologies to our clients that will drive compliance and enhance productivity throughout the clinical trial."

In addition to featuring its the new integration with Exco InTouch, Almac will be demonstrating its world-class IXRS(R) (Interactive Voice and Web Response) services and Almac's Interactive Reporting solution, two services that were launched in 2010.

Visit Almac at the 23rd Annual DIA EuroMeeting (booth # 1501) and Partnerships in Clinical Trials (booth #612) and participate in a special poster presentation by Hannah O'Gorman on "Identifying Patients' Reasons for Non-Compliance in ePRO Studies to Improve Data Collection Methods."

About Almac Group

The Almac Group provides a broad range of services from R&D, biomarker discovery and development, API manufacture, formulation development, clinical trial supply and IXRS(R) technology (IVRS/IWRS), to commercial-scale manufacture. Almac provides services to more than 600 companies, including all the world leaders in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors.

The company employs over 3,000 individuals and is headquartered in Craigavon, Northern Ireland. US operations are based in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and California. Almac has now moved into its new North American Headquarters located in Souderton PA.

Almac's Clinical Technologies business unit specializes in interactive technology and service solutions to increase the quality and efficiency of clinical trials. Our solutions include Interactive Voice and Web Response Systems (IXRS(R)) for patient randomization and drug assignment, patient and clinical supplies management, electronic-patient-reported-outcomes data collection, and Web drug reconciliation. Almac's technologies have been deployed in over 1600 clinical trials, incorporating over 1.5 million patients in over 80 countries, and more than 60 languages.

For more information about the Almac Group, please visit http://www.almacgroup.com or e-mail info@almacgroup.com

W: http://www.almacgroup.com