Top Medical Research Centers Form Velos Advisory Group for Service-Oriented Architecture

San Francisco, CA - June 4, 2009 - The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, one of the nation’s leading centers for cancer care and research, has been instrumental in establishing a Velos Advisory Group for Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). Five other leading academic medical centers and research institutions have helped to form this group. These include Columbia University, Duke University, University of Kansas, University of Miami and UT Southwestern Medical Center. The Advisory Group will collaborate with Velos to create an SOA layer for the Velos eResearch clinical trial management system deployed at each of their respective institutions.

“At M. D. Anderson, we concluded early in this process that interoperability of Velos with a variety of legacy institutional applications, as well as National Cancer Institute [NCI] applications and resources, was a critical success factor for our research informatics initiatives,” stated Roy B. Jones, Ph.D. M.D., Professor of Medicine, Chair, Clinical Research Computing Committee, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.  “For some time, we have pushed for the implementation of SOA as the preferred way of accomplishing this goal.”

Dr. Jones led efforts to form the Advisory Group, conferring with other members who are at various stages of implementing Velos eResearch to support clinical trials management. Each member has demonstrated a significant interest in a service-oriented approach to the Velos implementation. It is intended that each institution’s objectives be harmonized with those of Velos and with data standards such as those in the NCI’s caDSR. This will help all members achieve the goal of interoperability. 

SOA is a design approach that focuses on loosely-coupled interfaces connecting multiple software agents. An SOA infrastructure enables different software applications to exchange data with one another. Using SOA principles, organizations can create new, integrated or interoperating solutions leveraging systems and databases already in place.

“We are pleased at the formation of this Advisory Group and gratified to see institutions of such high stature as its charter members,” said John S. McIlwain, President and CEO of Velos. “The Velos platform will be critical to strategic directions that include collaboration with other institutions on a national and international scale. This new application layer will allow integrated systems to be more efficient and reliable. SOA is a further step in solving the ‘last mile’ where the value of Direct Data Capture is realized and where it will occur in real time. Velos is fully committed to developing this capability.”

About The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Celebrating more than six decades of Making Cancer History®, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is located in Houston on the sprawling campus of the Texas Medical Center. It is one of the world’s most respected centers devoted exclusively to cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. M. D. Anderson Cancer Center was created by the Texas Legislature in 1941 as a component The University of Texas System. The institution is one of the nation’s original three comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Act of 1971 and is one of 40 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers today. In 2008, U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Hospitals” survey ranked M.D. Anderson as the top hospital in the nation for cancer care. M.D. Anderson has achieved the top ranking four times in the past six years and has ranked as one of the top two hospitals for cancer care for 19 years, since the magazine began its annual survey in 1990.

About Velos
Velos is thetrusted clinical trial management resource for investigators, sponsors and academic leaders throughout the U.S.  The company serves 21 Top 25 U.S. medical centers. Velos eResearch is deployed for clinical research in all parts of the healthcare enterprise and supports a broad diversity of clinical departments and functional needs. The system fundamentally improves the way data is collected, organized and shared. A pure Internet technology platform, Velos eResearch harnesses advanced powers of the Internet to enable research sites, sponsors, and patients to participate in a secure, integrated system platform.  System users are freed of redundant data entry and related time delays associated with most clinical research today. With emphasis on workflow, Velos integrates the clinical, administrative and financial information needs of research management. Velos eTools, a companion product to Velos eResearch, empowers customers by giving them ownership and access to functions such as system configuration, data migrations, custom reporting and third party data submissions.  Founded in 1996, Velos is privately held with headquarters in Fremont, California.  For more information, visit www.velos.com.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.