This paper discusses in a critical manner the spectrum of commercially available files - for in-house use - on pharmaceutical development products, which has been expanding rapidly over the past few years. Increasing degrees of sophistication in both the file contents and ways of manipulating the data are becoming more evident. A brief overview of competitor information files of this type, currently being used by PDR (Pharmaceutical Documentation Ring) member companies, is included in this appraisal.
The strengths and weaknesses of some of these information resources of importance to pharmaceutical research and development, strategic planning, marketing and other functions within the industrial environment of the health care sector are outlined, using examples. A number of proposals are made for improving the coverage and content of the range of files under discussion, since optimal use of these resources can only be made if certain standards of quality control and indexing are met.
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