CDISC "CONNECTATHON" BRINGS TOGETHER CORPORATE SPONSORS IN SUPPORT OF INDUSTRY STANDARDS

Austin, TX - 9 July 2001 - Sponsors of the Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC) are uniting to participate in a unique event -- the CDISC Clinical Data Connectathon. The event, planned for the 2001 Annual Meeting of the Drug Information Association (DIA), will bring together leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology and information technology companies. These companies continue to demonstrate active support for CDISC through Corporate Sponsorships and participation in CDISC data modeling, working teams and task forces.

Since September 2000, CDISC has attracted 20 new sponsors and members, who provide funding to accelerate the progress of CDISC activities. The Clinical Data Connectathon is a proof-of-concept demonstration of the CDISC data models. CDISC, a global non-profit organization, is committed to leading the development of industry standards to support the electronic acquisition, exchange, submission and archiving of clinical trials data and metadata for medical and biopharmaceutical product development.

"The Connectathon will be a 'proof-of-concept' of standards for clinical data interchange among a representative collection of clinical research stakeholders, including pharmaceutical manufacturers, data management software vendors, clinical trial service providers and clinical laboratories," said Wayne Kubick, Director on the CDISC Board. "A primary objective for this demonstration is to show the utility of the CDISC XML operational data model (ODM) for the exchange of clinical data by users and technology providers involved in drug and device development", said Jane Boone, who is the Leader of the CDISC Testing and Applications Working Team, a CDISC team that is providing test data and support for the Connectathon.

CDISC Sponsors participating in this Clinical Data Connectathon will be: Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cato Research, CB Technologies, Clinsoft, CompleWare Corporation, Covance, CRF Box, DATATRAK International, Inc., Enmed, Inc., Fast Track Systems, GlaxoSmithKline, iBiomatics, iKnowMed, Integrated Clinical Systems, Nexigent, NexTrials, Perceptive Informatics, Inc., Phase Forward Incorporated, PHT Corporation, PPD, SAS Institute, Scirex Corporation, and Zurich Biostatistics. The Connectathon is set for the evening of 10 July 2001 at the Adam's Mark Hotel, in Denver, Colorado, across from the location of the DIA Annual Conference. A CDISC Session will take place during the Annual DIA Conference earlier that day.

"This Conference marks an anniversary for the announcement of our Charter CDISC Corporate Sponsors. We have been encouraged by the steady increase in supporting organizations, including companies focused on services and communications, in addition to global biopharmaceutical and technology companies," said Rebecca Kush, Founder and President of CDISC. "It is wonderful to see all of these organizations, including many competitors, working together toward a common industry goal. In addition, the recent formalization of an association between CDISC and HL7 exemplifies the interest in linking data from healthcare with that from clinical research."

CDISC is also making progress on its data model for submission of data to regulatory agencies, and has prepared a strategic plan. This plan will ensure continued rapid progress in developing clinical trial data standards, while leveraging partnerships with other established organizations for the maintenance and formal documentation of those standard data models. "We are seeing progress on many fronts, and the convergence of various industry parties to work on clinical trial data standards signifies its importance to the industry," said Steve Ruberg, Chairman of the CDISC Board of Directors. "A clinical trial environment based on widely accepted industry standards is within reach for the first time in history."

Charter Corporate Sponsors of CDISC are: Amgen, Aventis, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Cato Research, CB Technologies, Clinsoft (formerly DomainPharma), CompleWare Corporation, DATATRAK International, Inc., Duke Clinical Research Institute, Eli Lilly & Company, Fast Track Systems, GlaxoSmithKline (formerly SmithKline Beecham), iBiomatics, iKnowMed, Lincoln Technologies, Merck & Company, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Oracle Clinical, Perceptive Informatics, Pharsight, Phase Forward Incorporated, PHT Corporation, PPD, Quintiles, Sanofi-Synthelabo Research, Schering Plough Research, Scirex Corporation, and WebMD.

Organizations that have since joined CDISC as Corporate Sponsors are: Accenture, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Covance, CRF Box Ltd., Enmed, Inc. First Consulting Group, Genentech, Integrated Clinical Systems, Johnson & Johnson, Nexigent, SAS Institute, Schering AG, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals America. New Corporate Member organizations are Astra Zeneca, Dendrite and Procter and Gamble Pharmaceuticals.

For more information, visit the CDISC website at www.cdisc.org or contact the CDISC representatives at the top of this document.

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