In the Media
In Print: "A Team Approach" May 2010 WCC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Richard Walovitch and Director of Regulatory Affairs Dr. John F. Tomera explore how independent endpoint assessment committees can overcome imaging limitations in oncology trials in the May 2010 issue of Applied Clinical Trials (pg 18-22). Featured in the "Oncology & Clinical Trials in the 21st Century" supplement, Drs. Walovitch and Tomera discuss the importance of blinding patient data and implementing a streamlined technical approach to effectively demonstrate efficacy via tumor assessment endpoints.
In Print: "Clinical Trials of the Future" May 2010 WCC Director of Regulatory Affairs Dr. John F Tomera explains the impact that portfolio management, adaptive design, scheduled interim analysis, and clinical imaging CROs can have on clinical trials in the May 2010 issue of International Clinical Trials (pg. 48-52).
In Print: "Ask the Experts" January 2010 WCC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Richard Walovitch offers his advice on imaging to R&D Directions readers all month long on the PharmaLive website. Ask him a question or hear how he believes PET scanning has helped improve dosage decisions in trials for Alzheimer's and other CNS drugs.
In Print: "Adjudication in Oncology Trials: A Concept Whose Time Has Come" December 2009 WCC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Richard Walovitch joins Director of Biostatistics and Data Management Asli Memisoglu and Associate Director of Clinical Operations Denise Walsh for an overview of clinical imaging endpoints and the regulatory requirements surrounding them in the inaugural issue of PharmaNet Development Group's FOCUS newsletter. The group makes the case for the use of adjudication in oncology trials specifically, highlighting the importance of independent endpoint assessment committees and the necessary considerations for readying data for the FDA.
In Print: "Contract Research Organizations: Radiology's Newest Revenue Stream" September 10, 2009 by Julie Ritzer Ross WCC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Richard Walovitch and Vice President of Business Development Rick Taranto examine the growth of the imaging CRO and what it means for radiology in the August/September 2009 issue of Radiology Business Journal. In a discussion of the trends toward imaging in clinical trials, Dr. Walovitch and Taranto elaborate on WCC's approach to improving reader reproducibility and the growing importance of volumetric analysis with advanced modalities.
In Print: "Metrics and Trial Management" August 2009 WCC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Richard Walovitch and Director of Biostatistics and Data Management Asli Memisoglu explore the ins and outs of imaging study start-up, including the implementation of standardized performance metrics, in the August 2009 issue of International Clinical Trials (pg 46-50). In their explanation of the benefits of working with an imaging CRO, Dr. Walovitch and Memisoglu emphasize the importance of metrics to overall trial management and success.
In Print: "Clinical Trial Imaging: Innovations, Trends and Challenges" June 2009 by Kristin Brooks WCC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Richard Walovitch and Vice President of Business Development Rick Taranto join the director of imaging at Charles River Laboratories to address the latest innovations, industry trends, and challenges in clinical trial imaging from the CRO/provider perspective in the June 2009 issue of Contract Pharma.
In Print: "3 WorldCare Hires" May 11, 2009 by Suz Redfearn "WorldCare Clinical is on a hiring binge. The imaging-focused contract research organization (CRO), which was spun off from Massachusetts General Hospital 17 years ago, has hired three top-level executives in the last five months."
In Print: "Image Boost" May 2009 by Lyle D. Fitzsimmons WCC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Richard Walovitch discusses the value of imaging to earlier and more effective go/no-go decisions in the drug development process in a feature on "Solutions for Clinical Trial Imaging" in the May 2009 edition of R&D Directions (pg 32-34). In a discussion of the advances of molecular imaging and its impact on R&D, Dr. Walovitch joins fellow scientists from around the clinical trial imaging world.
In Print: "CRO Trends & Drivers: Specialty Pharma & Biotech Driving Current CRO Growth and Trends" April 2009 by Cindy H. Dubin WCC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Richard Walovitch joins executives from Charles River, Quanticate, and Biopharmaceutical Research Inc. for an industry roundtable in Specialty Pharma's feature inside Drug Delivery Technology's April 2009 issue (pg 64-68). Addressing several CRO industry trends identified by Frost & Sullivan, Dr. Walovitch discusses the movement toward growing sponsor engagement and integration with CROs, particularly in IT system decision-making and management, and earlier-stage studies.
In Print: "Walovitch Pictures Growth Potential at WorldCare" March 13, 2009 by Amber Gay "As an author and a scientist, Richard Walovitch has been trying to find ways to give back to the industry he has been involved in for more than 20 years. He has now taken that expertise in preclinical and clinical development into the position of chief medical officer at WorldCare Clinical LLC."
In Print: "WorldCare Enhances System" March 10, 2009 by Suz Redfearn "Imaging for clinical trials is a hot area, and getting hotter. WorldCare Clinical is beefing up its image management system and tapping its access to top radiologists in the U.S. and less expensive locales."
In Print: "WorldCare Launches Imaging Tech Service" March 3, 2009 by Maureen Martino "Imaging CRO WorldCare Clinical has launched a service that allows imaging data to be collected, standardized according to the imaging protocol, and held in a database until a central review is requested. The service - called Collect, Ready, Hold - uses the Boston-based company's WorldPro image management tech to acquire and prepare imaging data."
In Print: "CROs in Front: Long-Term Investment" September 2008 by Michael Christel WCC President Rick Taranto lends his outsourcing industry experience to the annual CRO industry report in the September 2008 issue of R&D Directions (pg 20-27). As the contributing expert on the role of specialty imaging CROs to the drug development process, Mr. Taranto highlights the growing trend among sponsors toward earlier engagement with imaging partners.
In Print: "Clinical Use of Imaging Biomarkers: How to Improve the Efficiency of Clinical Development" June 2008 ProScan CEO and WCC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Stephen Pomeranz discusses validating biomarkers as surrogate endpoints in clinical trials in Contract Pharma's annual June DIA issue (pg 100-103). In his look at the progress of biomarker utilization and regulatory acceptance since the FDA's Critical Path launch, Dr. Pomeranz calls out the requirements for using imaging in clinical trials and highlights its value with a sample study using cardiac multi-slice CT to test the effectiveness of a potential treatment for cardiovascular disease.
In Print: "Latest Imaging Technology a Good Fit for New Therapies" May 2008 ProScan CEO and WCC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Stephen Pomeranz and ProScan research assistant Dr. Resham Mendi introduce the Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI procedure and discuss its acquisition during clinical trials in the May 2008 issue of Applied Clinical Trials (pg 10-12). As part of a supplement on "Oncology and Clinical Trials in the 21st Century," Dr. Pomeranz and Dr. Mendi review the considerations for conducting DCE-MRI studies in oncology trials and for properly planning imaging protocol to address them.
In Print: "Screen Door Is Wide Open" April 2008 by Michael Christel WCC President Rick Taranto, along with executives from Wyeth, Merck, Parexel and Caliper Life Sciences, shares his thoughts on the value of imaging biomarkers to the early stages of the drug discovery process in the "Biomarkers: Expanding Their Discovery" special section in the April 2008 issue of R&D Directions (pg 16-32). In his discussion, Taranto specifically highlights WCC's use of DCE-MRI biomarkers in cancer trials in collaboration with MGH.
In Print: "Imaging Sites and Clinical Trial Harmony" October 2007 WCC Director of Clinical Operations Christina Mastandrea reviews the necessary steps for coordinating multisite imaging trials in the the October 2007 issue of Applied Clinical Trials. In her site harmonization overview, Mastandrea emphasizes the importance of standardizing image acquisition protocol, and delineates the most effective ways to minimize the troublesome variances at each stage of a trial.
In Print: A Review of Optical Coherence Tomography in Cardiovascular Research September 2007 WCC radiologist Dr. Jim Homsy reviews a new medical imaging text focusing on OCT in the September 2007 issue of Good Clinical Practice Journal (pg 40). Providing a thorough content summary and evaluation, Dr. Homsy sheds new light on a hot topic and recommends the work to physicians who regularly deal with atherosclerosis.
In Print: "The PharmaVOICE 100" July/August 2007 ProScan CEO and WCC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Stephen Pomeranz is named one of the 100 Most Inspiring People in the life sciences industry in the special July/August 2007 issue of PharmaVOICE (pg 46-47). Recognized as a "Risk Taker," Dr. Pomeranz is profiled as "an inspiration to those in the field of medical imaging."
In Print: "Imaging CROs & Their Impact on Clinical Trials" June 2007 WCC President Rick Taranto identifies the critical qualities to consider when choosing a central imaging CRO in Specialty Pharma's cover story inside Drug Delivery Technology's June 2007 issue (pg 72-76). In sharing his management expertise and practical industry knowledge, Taranto addresses the importance of imaging CROs to specialty pharmas and the impact they can have on clinical trials.
In Print: "Imaging in Clinical Trials" May 2007 WCC President Rick Taranto provides a thoughtful overview of managing imaging for clinical trials in Contract Pharma's May 2007 "CRO Industry Update" (pg 44). In his discussion of the administrative concerns for imaging CROs during clinical trials, Taranto reviews the necessary steps for handling image acquisition and organization from multiple sites.
In Print: "Cincinnati's Top Doctors" April 2007 ProScan CEO and WCC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Stephen Pomeranz is named one of the best doctors in the Greater Cincinnati area by his peers in the April 2007 issue of Cincinnati Magazine, accompanied by 14 of his contemporaries within the radiology specialty.
In Print: "WorldCare Clinical in Expansionist Mode" March 23, 2007 by Deborah Borfitz "With its acquisition by Cincinnati-based ProScan Imaging in mid-2006, WorldCare Clinical (WCC) gained new radiological expertise in more than 20 subspecialty and "super subspecialty" areas that is available "on a moment's notice" during clinical trials. The buyout also gave WCC the wherewithal to expand geographically beyond its headquarters near Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Cambridge."
In Print: “Imaging is Everything” February 2007 ProScan CEO and WCC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Stephen Pomeranz and ProScan lead technologist Jeff Bryant compare imaging vendors and equipment for clinical trials in the February 2007 issue of R&D Directions (pg 12-14). In their evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the MRI, CT and PET product lines of five major industry vendors, Dr. Pomeranz and Bryant provide an interesting and informative look at the technological options for trial sponsors.
In Print: “Imaging on Trial: MRI Versus CT” January 2007 ProScan CEO and WCC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Stephen Pomeranz and WCC President Rick Taranto discuss the pros and cons of the MRI and CT modalities for clinical researchers when developing trials in the January 2007 issue of Good Clinical Practice Journal (pg 22-25). Exploring the differences in scanner technology, the suitability to anatomical region, and the primary safety considerations of each, Dr. Pomeranz and Taranto lend their technical knowledge and hands-on experience to the science of clinical research.
In Print: “Clinical Imaging: The Key to Reducing Drug-Development Costs” November/December 2006 WCC President Rick Taranto makes the case for the value of clinical imaging in PharmaVOICE’s 2007 annual “Year in Preview” issue (pg 36). As a featured thought leader, Taranto explains how the use of imaging biomarkers in pharmaceutical testing can help speed data availability, increase investigative efficiency, and subsequently reduce costs over the course of the drug-development process. |
