March 12, 2007
Adobe Systems Inc.
Melonie C. Warfel
Director Worldwide Standards & Life Sciences
How has your company adapted and responded to the changing economic climate in the past five years when so many others companies did not?
Adobe has worked very closely with regulators and life sciences companies over the past 15 years, and we are keenly aware of the tremendous pressures on both regulators and sponsors to reduce the exorbitant cost of product development and ensure the quality and safety of marketed products. The landscape of product development is changing rapidly within the industry, with significant focus on the cost of clinical trials, which have been identified as the most expensive aspect of new product development. Adobe has responded to these demands by offering a novel set of products and tools that will streamline the clinical development process.
What is your vision for the future of the life sciences market over the next several years?
It is widely accepted within the industry that Medical Product Development is in a critical state of decay. The old model of “every company working alone” will continue to take us down the path of decay. Industry members agree that the goal of a robust infrastructure for product development will rely on increased collaboration and data sharing among all members of the industry. The landscape has already begun to change, and will continue to change to provide for increased collaboration among life sciences companies, universities and governmental agencies. The degree to which these entities will be able to securely collaborate will be dependent on a ubiquitous, consistent, predictable, and reliable infrastructure.
What products and services does your company provide and what special capabilities do they offer the life sciences market?
Clinical trials involve thousands of dispersed individuals (investigators and subjects) across many geographical areas and multiple technical infrastructures. The goal is to collect, integrate, and analyze complex clinical data as quickly as possible in an effort to ensure the efficacy and safety of the products being developed.
Adobe’s Engagement Platform provides the tools necessary to build the required secure, collaborative environment among all contributors. PDF has long been a standard set by many regulatory authorities and is the de facto standard for the exchange of clinical documents. Acrobat allows you to provide PDF’s for collaboration, review and approval, as well as SAFE approved digital signatures. Adobe’s Intelligent PDF Forms allow you to embed functionality and intelligence into clinical forms – thus allowing the transmission of intelligent documents to clinical investigators for completion. Additionally, Adobe’s workflow can be embedded into these forms, which will allow you to manage the forms outside the firewall, ensuring delivery to the right person and return of the completed forms in a secure and timely manner.
Critical components of Adobe’s Engagement Platform are Flash Player and Adobe Reader installed on over 600 million PC’s and devices. This allows you to develop and securely distribute critical clinical trial applications that can be accessed all over the world regardless of the infrastructure of the recipients.
Partnerships are an effective way to track life science advances and ensure that your company delivers timely products and services. Which life sciences companies or organizations have you partnered with or invested in and why?
Partners are the key to Adobe's initiatives to extend the reach of enterprise solutions. Adobe and its partners provide the resources and expertise organizations need to increase operational efficiency, manage financial risk, and improve their customers' experience. Adobe enterprise solution partners can help Life Sciences organizations derive maximum value from Adobe offerings. We have many partners that include Independent Software Vendors, System Integrators, Security Partners and Acrobat Partners. The list of Adobe Partners can be found at: http://partners.adobe.com/public/main.html?force-locale=en-us
What are your most exciting products and initiatives in development, and how will they improve life science research?
Adobe’s Engagement Platform offers an exciting, innovative solution to the challenges faced by the industry. Adobe’s Engagement Platform allows life sciences companies to improve business processes by more effectively communicating, engaging and interacting with industry professionals to provide the right information, to the right people, at the right time.
Where do you see your company in five years?
Adobe will continue to be a leader in establishing industry standards such as PDF, PDF/A, SAFE and in the future PDF/H, ASTM, HL7, and CDISC based standards. Adobe will be viewed as a core solutions provider with presence, influence and market share within industry Clinical, Regulatory and Sales/Marketing groups.