Criterium Press Releases

Contact: Arthur Gonick, Public Relations
(518) 583-0095
aigonick@criteriuminc.com

Criterium, Inc and IVR Concepts Expand Partnering Relationship
Criterium opens Boca Raton, FL Office

(Saratoga Springs, NY – February 12, 2007) – Criterium, Inc. announced today that it has signed an expanded license and service agreement with IVR Concepts, where Criterium’s Interactive Voice Response (IVR) servers are housed. This agreement allows Criterium to double its dedicated server capacity. This will also enable Criterium to significantly increase its capabilities in this increasingly important sector for data collection in pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device clinical research. Our system now has the capacity to handle up to 3,000 simultaneous calls, which makes it ideal for multiple and large-population global clinical trials.

As an outgrowth of this agreement, Criterium has opened a Florida Office, which is located at 600 S. Dixie Hwy., Suite 202, Boca Raton, FL 33432, for the specific purpose of administering and marketing its expanded IVR services. The contact for this office will be Mary Stefanzick, Associate Director for Operations (mtstefanzick@criteriuminc.com).

Our Florida operation also provides an extra level of redundancy and reliability with Criterium’s data management clusters which are headquartered in Saratoga Springs, NY , with auxiliary data centers in Pune and Chandigarh, India.

IVR Concepts in Boca Raton, FL is strategically situated near major telephone service providers’ (Qwest, Verizon, and AT&T) junctions, and, like Criterium, is equipped with high capacity generator backup in case of any power interruptions. All of this enhances Criterium’s ability to receive data, provide client support and generate real-time study updates as needed on a 24/7/365 basis.

“With this move towards an increased and dedicated space on the IVR Concepts platform”, comments Criterium, Inc. President and Founder John M. Hudak, “we can take on larger studies and many more clients than ever before – in effect doubling our service capacity. As a pioneer in utilizing Interactive Voice Response for the collection of patient diary information, it is gratifying for us to see this data collection, management and analysis tool become increasingly more important to clients throughout the globe. Our increased capacity assures that our long-standing mission to provide the highest level of quality and service will be maintained.”

Since 1991, Criterium has utilized Interactive Voice Response systems and its real-time data tracking capabilities for:

- Patient registration
- Randomization
- Patient response diaries
- Clinical trial management tracking.

IVR systems have been lauded within the pharmaceutical research field for its real-time data gathering abilities, universal availability to trial subjects worldwide, and the ability to provide multi-lingual applications with virtually no transcription errors.

As has been its practice since 1991, Criterium, Inc. will continue to write customized IVR scripts for clinical trials based on client’s specific requirements. They will also continue to collect and synthesize the data received from IVR applications and other source documents (e.g.: fax, web-enabled forms, labs and ECG’s) into integrated databases via StudyControl™, Criterium’s proprietary software to manage, integrate and report clinical data with audit trail capabilities not available with traditional paper diaries.

“We are very pleased with this expansion of our long-term relationship with Criterium.” said Mark Zuroff, President of IVR Concepts. “The Criterium team and IVR Concepts have worked together on several clinical trials and we look forward to even more successful studies. Projects are already underway at IVR Concepts to enhance domestic and international call processing as well as the development of additional data collection options. We strive to keep ahead of our customers’ needs and assist with their worldwide growth, which is critical to key customers like Criterium.”

About IVR Concepts:

IVR Concepts is a leading provider of hosted Interactive Voice Response (IVR) solutions and services that facilitate cost savings and increase efficiency for companies of all sizes. IVR Concepts offer a range of products using both Touch-Tone and Advanced Speech Recognition. These products allow clients to automate a wide variety of tasks, which reduces or eliminates the need for live agents and paper documents. Their innovative solutions help clients increase efficiency without capital expense. See www.ivrconcepts.com for more information.

About Criterium, Inc.:

With headquarters in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and offices worldwide, Criterium is a small global technology-based contract research organization that offers a unique mix of highquality, innovative clinical-research solutions and communications tools to manage the entire clinical-research process from initial planning to approval. The biopharmaceutical, pharmaceutical, medical-device, and CRO industries benefit from Criterium’s expertise, high-value services and products, and high-end results. Founded in 1991, Criterium’s services are customized to fit each client’s specific needs, providing a seamless flow of data and information from the investigative site through Criterium back to the sponsor.