HomeGuide to Services

IMIC (International Medical Information Center) offers a number of services, with the core service being collection and provision of medical and pharmacological information. It provides a wide range of services, encompassing preparation of drug-related documents, literature search, database establishment, literature photocopying, translation/proofreading (revision), support to academic organizations and so on. All of these services are of the highest quality. We provide our services keeping the needs of our clients foremost and strive our best to satisfy the requirements of each of our clients. Please feel free to contact us if you are interested in any of our services.

Pharmacovigilance Services

GVP Contract Service (for Safety Literature Information)

IMIC provides services in compliance with Good Vigilance Practice (GVP), the Japanese standard for post-marketing drug safety control. Regarding “Information related to academic society meeting reports, published reports and other research reports” defined in “Collection of safety control information” set forth in of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Ordinance No. 135, IMIC provides services of collecting and organizing the relevant information. The scope of information coverage on each topic, the form of information supplied from IMIC, etc., are adapted to the requirements of individual clients.

SafEty information Literature in IMIC (SELIMIC)

SELIMIC (SafEty information Literature in IMIC) is an indexed database on drug safety information which thoroughly covers the case reports and safety research reports (reports on adverse events, adverse reactions, poisoning/accidents, etc., related to ethical drugs, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, quasi-drugs, cosmetics, herbal preparations and regenerative medicines); the information is sourced from about 650 published medical journals and abstracts/annual meeting programs of about 4,000 academic societies/study groups in Japan. Each supporting member of IMIC can access this database free of charge.

SELIMIC-Alert

The SELIMIC-Alert Service provides safety information on each registered drug based on a search of IMIC’s drug safety information database (SELIMIC). Safety information compatible with not only the domestic GVP, but also with EU guidelines, is supplied in the form of Excel sheets. If requested, photocopies of the relevant literature can be supplied as well.

Global Literature Surveillance of Drug Information

The Overseas Drug Safety Information Service makes use of the literature databases from around the world. Databases best suited to the product characteristics of the client, e.g., MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS, etc., are selected and a search algorithm meeting the clients’ requirements is prepared. Search results, a line list of bibliographic information, and reports are provided periodically.

Medical Device Safety Information Surveillance (DEVICE SAFETY BASE)

IMIC provides two safety information services specific to medical devices: database search service (DEVICE SAFETY BASE database search) and regulatory authority website search service (DEVICE SAFETY BASE website search). We supply periodically safety information, recall information, warnings, etc., about medical devices via E-mail.

Infectious Disease Report on Biological Materials

The Biological Product Infection Fast-Track Report Service supports “Biological Product Infection Periodic reporting System” mandated for pharmaceutical companies within the framework of the drug safety regulations in Japan. The information is collected through database and website searches by search experts . The information collected thus on zoonoses is filtered by experts (veterinary surgeons and others) to select appropriate information for supply to clients.

CIOMS Form Processing

In ‘CIOMS processing service’, we create English CIOMS reporting forms based on AE data received from clients. English-to-Japanese translation of description part (7+13) is also available.

Medical Materials/Promotion Materials

Writing & Editing Drug Information Documents for Proper use of Drugs

Creating Medical Information Materials

This service involves preparation and revision of various documents, including general product profiles, drug interview forms, commentaries on “Precautions for Use,” drug guides for patients, drug information sheets, sales promotional materials, educational materials, etc. Each of these documents is prepared by our experienced staff members having expert knowledge in medicine/pharmacology under sophisticated control, operation and QC systems. This would enable workload reduction and improvement of efficiency at the clients’ companies as well as rapid and appropriate information provision by the companies to the end-users.

Obtaining Copyright Permission

This is the service on the measures/actions related to copyright licensing on the information contained in domestic and overseas academic papers. Support ensuring appropriate copyright licensing is customized to the diverse needs of individual clients (e.g., reproduction of figures/tables from published academic papers, and preparation of reprints of published academic papers). The actions needed, ranging from investigation of complex copyright ownership to payment to the licensor, are taken swiftly.

Database Management

IMIC Document Information System (I-dis)

I-dis is a literature information integrated management system developed by IMIC. It enables not only registration and search of papers related to the own products of a client’s company, but also management of the company’s internal documents and other materials. Management of FAQs can also be operated within the framework of I-dis. It is provided in the form of ASP, thus allowing rapid and trouble-free establishment of a system. It can cope flexibly with the need for customization of registration, search items and functions to expand the standard specifications. In this way, support is provided for the establishment of a system fitting the everyday requirements of clients.

Abstract Production & Indexing

This service is employed to prepare the contents for client’s databases or I-dis. The academic papers published in Japan or overseas are summarized into abstracts in the form desired by the client. These contents are prepared focusing on the desired topic, e.g., the client’s own product, specific disease, etc., so that every detail of the information needed by the client is specified and covered. Classification by themes and indexing with key words allows simplified data processing as well as search and extraction of target records. In addition, a service for preparation/maintenance of the bibliographic data to be registered into databases is also available. These services support the establishment of well-organized databases corresponding to the clients’ objectives.

Document Supply

Photocopies of papers contained in serial publications (academic journals), abstracts/programs of professional societies/study groups, books, etc., in the fields of medicine and pharmacology can be provided. This is one of the largest academic paper photocopying service in the field of medicine in Japan, for both academic literature collected by IMIC and literature published by affiliated medical libraries.

Database Search

With the Database Search Service, our search experts conduct a search of domestic/overseas databases of medicine and pharmacology for reports on the desired topics, e.g., papers on the drug, disease specified by the client, papers written by specific authors, etc. The results are supplied in the form of a list of relevant information on papers (title, author, journal name, volume/page of the journal, abstract, etc.). Even if the client is unable to specify the database that needs to be searched or the key words for the information being sought, our search experts will provide consultation and advice for an optimal search plan.

SDI Search

The Current Survey Service is suitable for clients that seek the latest information published in the literature. Based on database searches on any registered topic(s) specified by the client, periodic search reports are prepared and provided at the frequency specified by the client. Registration is required only once, thereafter, the searches on the specified topics will be continued. At the time of registration for the service, our search experts will devise an optimal search algorithm in consultation with the client, and will regularly update the algorithm, as needed.

Hand Search

Papers carrying the specific key words and papers satisfying the adoption criteria are selected from the literature related to medicine and pharmacology and then supplied to the client once a week. The entire process is undertaken manually, with each page of the relevant documents (from the front cover to the last page) being checked by our search experts. Resources for the search cover the latest issues of periodicals available at IMIC and programs/abstracts for annual meetings sponsored by academic societies/study groups.

Translation & Revision

Translation

Translation Service is accurate and appropriate translations service as quickly as possible. It is available to translate a wide variety of material, including translations of academic documents, journal articles, abstracts, titles, correspondence related to medical and pharmaceutical area, and medical charts. All Japanese-to-English translations are checked by a native English speaker before being sent to the client.

English Revision

English Revision Service enables clients to accurately and appropriately convey the meaning of documents in current English
The English Revision Service is available to revise documents written in English, including original articles, meeting abstracts, texts of speeches, slide commentaries, and letters to the editor. The English revisions are performed by native English speakers who are familiar with scientific writing and have extensive knowledge in the biomedical field.

Academic Support

Support for Promoting Evidence-Based Medicine

Support is provided to facilitate the preparation of guidelines conforming to the principles of EBM (evidence-based medicine). All steps of guideline preparation, ranging from planning to publication, are supported primarily through secretarial services provided to the client’s guideline preparation committee, covering literature search/collection/management, keyword allocation, manuscript editing/proofreading, etc. With an experience of more than 10 years behind us, we prepare a detailed plan of the service contents for the clients, and enable the clients’ labor and time to be saved by reliably managing the progress of the service and providing proposal-type services. Regarding management of related papers, we have an established system that allows viewing of all of bibliographic information, keywords and abstract for a given paper on the same display page. This system facilitates critical reading of papers, selection of cited papers in an efficient manner through enabling seamless information access, and interactive links are available between literature information and literature review information (acquired information, structured abstract, etc.).

Support for Managing Academic Association / Academic Conference

Optimal secretarial services tailored to the client’s needs are provided via utilization of IMIC’s high expertise and organizational capability. To deal with the basic routine work of the academic society secretariat (member registration/withdrawal and other changes) and routine accounting work (collection of annual membership fees, etc.), we propose introduction of a computerized member management system and accounting program to facilitate systematized and efficient secretarial operation. In addition, our experienced staff members provide administrative support for the conduct of meetings (Board of Directors, committees, etc.), preparation/operation of academic programs such as symposia and conferences, and certification/accreditation systems of academic societies.