Cognos Unveils BI Tools For Pharmaceutical Companies

Cognos Inc. has launched two software tools to help pharmaceutical companies manage expenses in sales and research and development.

The Clinical Trial Forecasting and Sample Optimization blueprints leverage industry best practices and analytical applications in helping companies control spending in specific areas, officials with the Canadian company said Wednesday.

The forecasting tool helps drug companies better anticipate resource requirements and accompanying expenses for clinical trials that comply with federal filing requirements. Clinical trials are one of the biggest expense items in most research and development budgets.

For additional capabilities, the new product can be used with the Cognos 8 Business Intelligence suite. Together, the technologies can help organizations more accurately forecast, plan and manage trial expenses; recognize and correct under-performing clinical trials; and consolidate all trials to facilitate enterprise-wide visibility and analysis. In addition, the combined products can help drive greater accountability and control at each stage of the trial.

The Sample Optimization Blueprint helps drug companies determine the amount of samples to allocate to the sales force in order to meet overall prescription volume targets, while also staying in line with corporate revenue objectives. The tool helps in building sample distribution strategies that take in to account market conditions, field-level information, inventory plans and other corporate goals.

The two new products, which are available now, are the first in a series of life sciences-specific products planned by Cognos. The business intelligence vendor also offers blueprint products for planning and performance management in other areas, such as strategic financial planning and forecasting, sales planning and forecasting, workforce planning, expense planning, and capital expenditure planning.