IT firm Cognizant has inked a multi-year agreement with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to deliver

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comprehensive biostatistics and medical reporting services for generating clinical study reports.

No financial details, however, were disclosed.

Under the agreement, the IT firm will provide centralised statistical

programming, statistical analysis, medical writing, and document

publishing services across the entire chain of clinical data reporting

from case report forms to clinical study reports, Cognizant said

in a statement.

This will enable AstraZeneca to increase operational efficiency,

reduce cycle times, and optimise costs, it added.

AstraZeneca will continue to own and manage key scientific and medical

activities associated with the design of clinical trial programmes,

and the interpretation of data from them.

"Cognizant will help us streamline our clinical development operations.

This is key to our business transformation aimed at achieving greater

efficiency, agility, flexibility and global competitiveness - all

of which are crucial to clinical trials and development of new drugs,"

AstraZeneca VP and Head of Clinical Development Karin Wingstrand said.

The agreement further expands the services that Cognizant provides

to AstraZeneca.

AstraZeneca first engaged Cognizant in 2004 to provide business

process and technology solutions spanning discovery, clinical, manufacturing,

and commercial operations.

Since 2008, Cognizant has also been providing centralised data management

services for AstraZeneca's global clinical development programmes

and application maintenance services in the areas like research,

clinical development, and sales and marketing.