Crimson Life Sciences Introduces New Software That Lowers Labeling Cost and Risk.

Significant Savings Projected by Medical Device Manufacturer

BOSTON & SAN FRANCISCO -- Crimson Life Sciences, the specialized medical device division of global language and business services leader TransPerfect, today announced the successful client implementation of ABREVE[R], an integrated solution that combines cutting-edge software with an industry-leading content-reduction methodology to reduce the costs and risks associated with multilingual product labeling.

More Savings, Less Risk

According to Crimson President Marc H. Miller, "Multilingual product labeling is a regulatory requirement for medical device manufacturers selling overseas, but the high cost of translation compliance can be burdensome in the current economic climate." By implementing ABREVE, manufacturers can attack the problem at its source with an innovative approach that systematically reduces the volume of source content--thereby reducing translation cost and risk.

ABREVE author training, combined with the dynamic ABREVE software, has been successfully employed by medical device leader Bio-Rad Laboratories in their Clinical Systems Division to reduce translatable content and overall labeling translation costs by some 17 percent. In addition, ABREVE-generated improvements to source English documentation effectively lower labeling risk - an important area of focus for Notified Bodies and Competent Authorities.

Training and Technology Provide Tangible Improvements

Prior attempts to condense documentation through so-called "guided authoring" have been met with resistance from technical writers--many of whom are wary of technology-only solutions. ABREVE removes this obstacle through specialized author training and powerful feedback built into the ABREVE support software. Bio-Rad's implementation team noted, "ABREVE's metrics module provides immediate evidence of text reductions and improvements--there's a real sense of accomplishment." Managers also like metrics reporting because it measures authors' work and validates overall training effectiveness.

Hans Fenstermacher, Vice President of TransPerfect, Princeton-educated linguist, and creator of ABREVE, observes that technical writers respond well to productivity tools that leave them in control of the authoring process. "ABREVE supports authors--it doesn't seek to replace them. Our technology gives authors direct access to similar content and previously translated material, providing increased reuse and lower cost."

Bio-Rad's implementation team agreed, "The convenient lookup function provides access to our entire library of translated text online, giving us immediate accessibility. Not only does this improve reuse and reduce costs, it saves valuable time."

Valuable Technology Based on a Validated Process

The new ABREVE software incorporates text reduction and consistency rules from the validated ABREVE authoring and content optimization methodology. Observes Fenstermacher, "Like all efforts at process automation, it's important to have a good process in place to begin with." Clients clearly agree: the ABREVE methodology has been successfully implemented by a broad spectrum of companies outside of the demanding medical device industry, including Adobe, Autodesk, Kodak, Motorola, and Xerox.

About Crimson Life Sciences

Crimson is a division of TransPerfect Translations and is the world's largest translation practice devoted exclusively to Class II and Class III medical devices and List A and List B IVDs. Crimson is the first translation company certified to ISO 13485 and ISO 14971. Crimson is also certified to ISO 9001 and carries important Notified Body endorsements for labeling translation risk management. TransPerfect is the world's largest privately held language services provider with 56 offices worldwide.