Calgary, AB (September 19, 2008) Nova Scotian entrepreneur William Adams has won a $10,000 Manning Innovation Award, sponsored by the A. J. Child Foundation, for developing a safer, more efficient way to distribute drug samples. SmartSample® (US and Canadian patents pending) replaces traditional pharmaceutical samples with a specialized prescription that physicians can endorse and give to patients. Patients can use the prescription to receive free samples from any pharmacy in Canada from its regular supply of medications.

A practice dating back to the 1920s, sampling is the pharmaceutical industry's primary marketing tool. Sampling has an important role in the healthcare system because it allows physicians and patients to evaluate drug therapies at no cost. But as traditionally practised, says Adams, sampling is wasteful, incompatible with electronic health records, and has the potential to compromise patient safety.

As a new pharmaceutical rep in the 1990s, on the road for two weeks each month with a minivan full of drug samples, Adams quickly realized how challenging it was to meet Health Canada's guidelines for pharmaceutical products. Like prescribed medications, drug samples should be stored at the right temperature and used before they expire. Adams says that before pharmaceutical reps have a chance to collect expired drug samples, many end up in landfills. Says Adams, "I just thought, there's a better way!"

Bringing the pharmacist into the loop to check for drug-drug interactions and talk with the patient bridges the gap in continuity of care, Adams adds.

Adams developed his idea for a branded sample card with business partners Paul Tobin and Greg Patey. Slightly larger than a credit card, SmartSample® has the sampled product information clearly displayed on one side and a section for physician authorization on the other. Once it is signed, the SmartSample® becomes a valid prescription that the patient can bring to the pharmacy of their choice for a free sample of the medication. An electronic reporting system keeps track of the distributed samples.

SmartSample® and the other SmartTechnology™ products are produced by Sampling Technologies Incorporated (STI), of which Adams, Tobin, and Patey are managing partners. Eight of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies in Canada now use STI SmartTechnology™ for various products.

The Ernest C. Manning Awards Foundation
This year the Foundation will award $165,000 in prize money. Four awards, totalling $145,000, will go to leading Canadian innovators. Another $20,000 will go to Young Canadians chosen at the 2008 Canada-Wide Science Fair.

The Foundation was established in 1980 in the name of prominent Alberta statesman, Ernest C. Manning, to promote and support Canadian innovators. Since 1982, the Foundation has presented over $3.9 million in prize money through its annual awards program. The 2008 awards will be presented at an awards gala on Friday, October 3 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

• A Media Backgrounder about the innovators and their work is now available on the Foundation’s website, with video available after October 3, 2008: www.manningawards.ca
• For more information on the Foundation, contact Bruce Fenwick, Executive Director: 403-645-8288 or bruce.fenwick@encana.com
• For more information about STI and their products, visit www.samplingtechnologies.com/ or contact Mr. William Adams: 902-489-8960 or bill.adams@samplingtechnologies.com