It's been a good year! Summary of 2023 at Biostat
We summarize 2023 at Biostat Group. We are pleased to announce that we closed the last 12 months with increases in every area of our operations:
Clinical and observational studies
In 2023, we were pleased to continue working with leading pharmaceutical companies such as Adamed, Astra Zeneca, Celon Pharma Chiesi, Egis, Ipsen, Pfizer, Polpharma and Takeda.
In the past year, we also launched projects with new partners. We signed a framework agreement for cooperation with the Jagiellonian Innovation Center and agreements with Amercian Heart of Poland to establish long-term research cooperation. Biostat's new clients also include such entities as Medinice, Bioxapp, the Upper Silesian Medical Center of Prof. Leszek Giec of the Silesian Medical University in Katowice and Neuro Device Group S.A.
We invariably support non-commercial clinical trials for clients such as Warsaw Medical University, Wroclaw Medical University, Gdansk Medical University, National Institute of Oncology, Jagiellonian University, University Clinical Hospital in Opole, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Silesian Center for Heart Diseases or Institute of Hematology and Transfusiology.
A challenge for Biostat, as for other CROs, has been to take the first steps in the CTIS system, a portal created by the European Medicines Agency as a result of the entry into force of Regulation (EU) No. 536/2014 on clinical trials. We are intensively expanding our IT facilities in an effort to digitize and automate the clinical trial process.
Our strong position in the clinical and observational research industry is also evidenced by Biostat's statistically supported publications in reputable journals, i.e. Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology (TAG), American Journal of Perinatology, Frontiers in Pediatrics, PLOS ONE, Neonatology, Advances in Clinical and Experimental Medicine.
> Learn more about Biostat's clinical research services
Marketing research and market research
The Biostat brand has also been recognized for many years in the market for broad-based marketing and opinion research.
In 2023, our research was used in reports by leaders in the consulting sector (Grant Thornton, PwC) and public think-tanks such as the Polish Economic Institute, the Generation Institute, the National Institute of Public Health - National Institute of Hygiene. Our clients also included such institutions as the Provincial Labor Office in Bialystok and the Open Cages Association.
Last year, we carried out a total of about 100 scientific and social studies for leading Polish academic centers, including the University of Warsaw, Jagiellonian University, Gdansk University of Technology, Lublin University of Technology, AGH University of Science and Technology, Warsaw School of Economics, Wroclaw University of Economics or WSB Merito University. Through our research, we support researchers in the implementation of quantitative and qualitative research, as well as in the statistical processing of the results.
Our market research and marketing research offer is also used by commercial entities, including brands such as Paul Hartmann, Politan, Savicki, Meble Wójcik and the Wieliczka Salt Mine.
We would like to remind you that Biostat Research and Development Center has a full range of research tools at its disposal. We carry out all types of surveys (CATI, CAWI, CAPI, PAPI), but in the last year the dominance of online surveys was definitely visible. Thanks to our proprietary panel badanie-opinii.pl, we have full freedom in implementing this type of research.
This trend is also evident in the increase in interest (by more than 30%) in our Survgo platform, which allows you to design and execute marketing research on your own. On Survgo.com, our clients are successfully implementing surveys on nationwide samples, with brand recognition surveys being of particular interest.
Medfile and HaloDoctor go from strength to strength
The year 2023 was marked at Biostat by the rapid development of the electronic medical records software Medfile. Currently, Medfile is already used by 15,000 doctors from all over Poland, and in recent months we have been joined by more than a dozen large medical facilities.
This is the result of constant work by our team of programmers to develop the software. Suffice it to say that in 2023 we rolled out about 120 updates to the program, implementing such innovative functionalities as VoIP telephony, marketplace and Drug Assistant, among others.
In parallel to Medfile, we are developing the telemedicine platform HaloDoctor.co.uk, where patients' doctors can consult doctors online. On average, several hundred e-healthcare visits take place every day on the HaloDoctor platform, during which patients receive advice, e-prescriptions and can receive an e-consultation. Let's add that in 2023, the "Health A-Z" knowledge base and drug database were also created on the HaloDoctor service. Both Medfile and HaloDoctor have not been spared artificial intelligence modules, elements of which we are gradually implementing in both projects.
Speaking of artificial intelligence - in 2023, ViciData and Biostat's joint project "Digital Twin of the Eye" received a grant from The Industrial Development Corporation of Norway (SIVA). The "Digital Twin of the Eye" concept could become a future breakthrough in the diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases.
Our contribution to the development of telemedicine in Poland has also been recognized by the Ministry of Health, which has placed Medfile and HaloDoctor on the "Map of Innovations in Health Care."
Vetfile - software for veterinary practices
At Biostat, we try to closely follow market trends. In 2023, we started work on a program for veterinary clinics - Vetfile. This is to respond to the demand of veterinarians for an intuitive program to manage the practice, warehouse, maintain electronic medical records, as well as remote medical consultations for animals. The first veterinary practices will start working with Vetfile in the coming weeks. Vetfile has been built from the beginning as software scaled for global markets. One of the core features of the software is a language module, which allows us to offer Vetfile software in any language.
We have also started work on building an online veterinary clinic, available 24 hours a day. The project will launch as early as February 2024!
Biostat Research and Development Center
In 2023, for the fifth consecutive year, the Ministry of Development and Technology granted us the status of Research and Development Center. Only 59 entities in Poland can boast such a distinction. The granting of CBR status is preceded by a restrictive certification process. The most important criterion considered by the ministry is the ability to combine science and business, which provides technical and scientific support for the Polish economy..
We share knowledge
For several years, Biostat experts have been sharing their knowledge through trainings and courses made available to interested parties online W on the Edu Biostat platform. At the moment, we offer more than a dozen courses of Polish and English language versions. These are training courses in the area of application of statistics in scientific and business activities, as well as clinical research. Also new is a course on monitoring clinical trials.
Forbes Diamonds for Biostat
A nice highlight of 2023 for us was the recognition in the annual ranking of Forbes magazine. We found ourselves in the top 100 of the ranking of the most dynamically growing companies in Poland and in 15th place in the list of companies from the Silesian province.
Employment 20% up!
The management and owners of the company have no doubt that the achievements and Biostat are the result of the professionalism and commitment of the team.
From the very beginning of the company's existence, we have attached great importance to inviting people to work with us who want to be experts in their fields, but above all are highly motivated for self-development. In 2023, we increased employment in almost every department of the company, by an average of 20%. The largest number of professionals joined our IT department, where we recruit talented developers all the time,
– summed up Ewa Tkocz-Piszczek PhD, Vice-chairman at Biostat.
What will 2024 bring?
It is already clear that the new 2024 will be a very busy year in the area of clinical and observational research. Our goal is to expand our portfolio of commercial clients and partners who intend to bring medical devices to market or recertify them under the MDR. We will also work to increase Biostat's brand recognition in Europe. In addition, 2024 will be a time of increased effort in transferring clinical trials to the Clinical Trial Information System (CTIS) in accordance with Regulation 536/2014.
We also anticipate further client growth in the areas of marketing research, employee opinion research and market research. Among others, we want to continue our cooperation with Ciech S.A., Velvet Care Sp. z o.o., and KGHM Polska Miedź S.A., among others.
The year 2024 will also be a time of intensive work at Biostat on the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in telemedicine.
We closed the last 12 months with significant growth in every area of our operations. We have another year ahead of us - the 20th year of Biostat Group's operations. The key to our success is our continued focus on reinvesting in new, innovative projects. There is a reason why BioStat has held Research and Development Center status for the past 6 years. This status obligates a constant focus on improvement. I personally started my career as a scientist, then the situation forced us to pursue commercial projects. After a few years, we returned to science from the business side. It can be said that we are currently linking the worlds of science and business which, in a modern economy, should complement and interpenetrate each other,"
– sums up Rafal Piszczek - CEO of Biostat.