Medidata Solutions, BT to Provide Clinical Trial System for UK's National Cancer Research Network; Medidata Rave Selected for First-Ever Nationwide Deployment of eClinical Trial Solution.

NEW YORK -- Medidata Solutions, a global provider of electronic clinical data capture, management and reporting solutions, today announced that the UK's National Cancer Research Network (NCRN) will pilot its Rave solution to manage and streamline data for eight clinical trials with the potential to include more than 250 trials within NCRN's portfolio throughout the United Kingdom. With IT support and project management from British Telecom (BT), this collaboration represents the first nationwide deployment of e-clinical trial technology.

Funded by the UK Department of Health, the NCRN was created in 2001 to improve the infrastructure of clinical research in cancer and to ensure that research is better integrated with cancer care. In an effort to simplify processes for 35 networks and 500 staff members throughout England, the NRCN sought to replace paper-based clinical trials with an electronic solution.

To ensure selection of the most efficient solution, the NCRN's technology group spent a year evaluating a wide range of electronic data capture (EDC) vendors. Rave was chosen from a group of five vendors for the pilot phase of the project for its browser-independence and zero-client architecture, which will enable easy deployment within the heterogeneous NHS infrastructure for study build, data entry and data management activities. In addition to Rave's simple deployability, key factors in the NCRN's selection were the system's ease-of-use, scalability and early insight into clinical data through real-time data access.

"Because the NCRN will eventually roll out this technology on a national basis, involving thousands of users and multiple locations in the UK, we needed a web-enabled, 21st century solution that allows users to log on from any system and easily manage online study development," said Monica Jones, information systems manager for the NCRN. "Medidata Rave is a user-friendly, integrated system that also allows us to conduct academic clinical trials more efficiently within a regulatory environment."

To assist the NCRN's IT staff, Medidata's European office will be providing a range of professional services to ensure a successful roll-out of Rave. BT will provide a resilient, secure managed hosted environment along with program management of the delivery using Prince 2 methodology to ensure successful delivery of the project. Post-deployment, BT will provide Single Point of Contact (SPoC) and ongoing contract management and technical assistance.

"We believe that BT, in partnership with the NCRN, has chosen the right application in Medidata Rave for this important pilot phase, as it will drive major efficiencies in the collection of clinical trial data. This is done through secure end-to-end connection over N3, the BT Managed NHS National Network, to the BT hosted application," said Anthony Raisbury, client manager for BT Health National Accounts.

During the first year, the NCRN will pilot Medidata Rave for up to eight trials over six trial units and 30 recruiting centers. Medidata Rave will allow the NCRN to:

--Increase efficiencies through a single technology platform for study build, remote data entry, data monitoring and reporting;

--Easily scale to include multiple studies across of hundreds of clinical sites;

--Increase user adoption through Medidata Rave's zero-client, which enables sponsors and sites to access the application via any Internet browser; and

--Leverage a 21st-century data collection and analysis environment to assist the work of clinical researchers engaged in the fight against cancer.

It is hoped that, following a successful pilot, Medidata Solutions and BT would have the opportunity to replicate the NCRN model across five additional therapeutic areas for the Department of Health, including diabetes, stroke, mental health, medicines for children and dementia and neurodegenerative diseases, as part of the UK Clinical Research Network (UKCRN).

"The NCRN stands at the forefront of organizations incorporating clinical trial technology with the goal of positively impacting patient care," said Tarek Sherif, CEO and co-founder of Medidata Solutions. "Together with BT, Medidata Solutions can provide the NCRN with the infrastructure to advance the speed, quality and integration of cancer clinical studies and look forward to expanding into additional therapeutic areas with the UK Clinical Research Network."

About BT Group plc

BT is one of the world's leading providers of communications solutions serving customers in Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific. Its principal activities include networked IT services, local, national and international telecommunications services, and higher-value broadband and internet products and services. BT consists principally of three lines of business:

--BT Retail, providing a comprehensive range of communications and related services to more than 20m UK consumers and businesses.

--BT Wholesale, providing network services and solutions within the UK to more than 600 fixed and mobile operators and service providers including the provision of broadband and private circuits.

--BT Global Services, providing networked IT services to meet the needs of multi-site organizations globally. BT Global Services operates in more than 130 countries and also offers international carrier services.

In the year ended 31 March 2005, BT Group's turnover was GBP 18,623 million with profit before goodwill amortization, exceptional items and taxation of GBP 2,085 million. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York. For more information, visit www.bt.com/aboutbt.

About The National Cancer Research Network

The National Cancer Research Network (NCRN) was created in response to the need to improve the infrastructure within the NHS for clinical research in cancer and to ensure that research is better integrated with cancer care as outlined in the 2000 Report of the Science and Technology Committee on Cancer Research. Its aim is to improve the speed, quality and integration of research, ultimately resulting in improved patient care. For more information, visit www.ncrn.org.uk.

About Medidata Solutions Worldwide

Medidata Solutions helps the world's leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies realize the maximum potential value from their clinical research investments. Working with companies large and small, Medidata Solutions helps accelerate the process of bringing life-enhancing treatments to market - on five continents and in more than 70 countries. Innovative process design, technology and services can streamline clinical trials by providing early visibility to clinical data for faster decision-making, optimized resources and lower execution risk. Medidata Solutions' broad client base and deep clinical experience provide value for the world's leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies, expertise in more than 20 therapeutic areas, projects in Phase I, II, III, IV, registries and surveillance, and studies with thousands of investigators and tens-of-thousands of subjects. To learn more about Medidata Solutions, please visit www.mdsol.com.