Exco InTouch, the leading provider of patient communication solutions for the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors announces that it came in second at the prestigious 2008 Good Clinical Practice Journal (GCPj) Awards in the category of Most Innovative Patient Recruitment Strategy. The awards were organised by Informa Healthcare, the leading provider of business information for the biotechnology and medical devices industries and involved a panel of judges from prominent global pharmaceutical organisations. This recognition follows Exco InTouch's recent success at the European Outsourcing Awards and was received in recognition of the company's text message-based participant communication strategy developed for MDS Pharma Services.

Exco InTouch was named second in this category in recognition of its innovative clinical trial participant technology and the unique benefits experienced by customer MDS Pharma Services. MDS Pharma Services uses Exco InTouch's participant communication technology for Phase I studies at its Belfast, UK clinic. MDS Pharma Services uses text messaging technology for participant recruitment in all of its Phase I studies as a result of the success the company has experienced through working with Exco InTouch. As MDS Pharma Services is a clinical research organisation, the sponsor has recruitment targets to meet often on a short deadline, and must find and dose participants as quickly as possible.

John Taylor, Head of Patient Recruitment, MDS Pharma Services, comments: "The services provided by Exco InTouch are critical in ensuring that participant enrolment is on time and within budget. Using text message-based technology for participant recruitment enables MDS Pharma Services to find suitable study participants more quickly than with any other method and we are pleased to see this innovative solution recognised by the industry."

"We are delighted by this new recognition at the GCPj Awards, which represent a prestigious industry gathering," comments Tim Davis, Co-Founder, Exco InTouch. "Patient communication via text messaging technology offers unique benefits during recruitment strategies as well as throughout the life of a study, often increasing retention by over 20%."

Following the success of Exco InTouch's communication strategy, MDS Pharma Services now implements text messaging technology into its recruitment advertising campaigns, using short codes to elicit responses from interested yet unknown participants (for example, "We are currently running trials in your area. For more information, text TRIAL to 12345"). Exco InTouch's technology is fully customisable and can be used as a standalone solution or integrated into existing strategies to improve recruitment rates.