Index
General / Miscellaneous
R&D / Biomedical
Corporate (Legal, Finance, HR)
Industrial
Operations / Process Engineering / Safety / Quality Assurance / Maintenance
Information Systems
Communications
Marketing and Sales
[Index]
| AIS | Applied Immune Sciences |
| BMS | Bristol-Myers Squibb |
| BU | Business Unit |
| CDC | (Pharmaceutical Corp's) Corporate Development Committee. The CDC sets global product strategy for Pharmaceutical Corp. It selects the therapeutic areas and indications in which Pharmaceutical Corp can achieve a worldwide leadership position. It prioritizes global and regional new-product developments--as early as discovery/licensing, and ensures consistency of resource-allocation for the development, premarketing and marketing of these products in each franchise. |
| Centeon | 50/50 joint venture between Pharmaceutical Corp and Hoechst AG; one of the world’s leading plasma protein companies |
| DER | (Pennsylvania) Department of Environmental Resources (analogous to EPA--except it's at the state level) |
| DOMA | an former Pharmaceutical Corp business unit defined largely by geographic/economic criteria [i.e., developing countries]; consists of: Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Asia {except Pacific Rim, q.v.} (the term itself is a French acronym for: Direction des Opérations Moyen-Orient et Afrique); see Pharmaceutical Corp International |
| DOM-TOM | French Overseas Territories (French abbreviation for Departements Outre-Mer/Territoires Outre-Mer) |
| EPA | (US) Environmental Protection Agency |
| ETRP | Employer Trip-Reduction Program (cf. the [US] federal 'Clean Air Act Amendment of 1990') |
| Executive Council | The purpose of the Executive Council is to oversee the operation of the company, in keeping with a decentralized approach. It focuses on Pharmaceutical Corp's performance, corporate direction, Human Resources Planning, business development, and transactions approval and follow-up. The Executive Council normally meets the day before each Pharmaceutical Corp Board of Directors meeting. |
| FDA | (US) Food and Drug Administration |
| HCP | An acronym for Health Care Professional. HCPs include physicians (general practitioners and specialists), pharmacists and nurses. |
| HPB | Human Pharmaceuticals Business (of RP S.A. = 'RP Santé,' which merged with Rorer to form Pharmaceutical Corp in 1990) |
| JV or J-V | joint venture |
| MRK | Merck & Company (formerly Merck, Sharp & Dohme) |
| PERI | PhRMA/PMA Education and Research Institute |
| PhRMA (formerly: PMA) | Pharmaceutical Research Manufacturers Association (a US trade association, formerly: Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association) |
| PI | Prescribing Information, Package Insert |
| PMC | Pasteur-Mérieux-Connaught |
| PMSV | Pasteur-Mérieux Serums et Vaccins |
| PTM | Project Team meeting |
| QPIC | (Pharmaceutical Corp) Quality and Productivity Improvement for Competitiveness |
| Pharmaceutical Corp International | Formerly "EMA"; Pharmaceutical Corp region encompassing Central & Eastern Europe, Southwest Asia, Middle East, Africa, Central & South America and Canada; see DOMA |
| RP Ag | Pharmaceutical Corp Agro; part of the Pharmaceutical Corp Group dedicated to plant health |
| SB or SKB | SmithKline Beecham |
| SBU | Strategic Business Unit |
| SKU (number) | stock-keeping unit. A common retail acronym for individual bar-code/number serving as a unique product-identifier |
| SOP | standard operating procedure |
| SPC | Summary of Product Characteristics (European Union term for PI) |
| TQM | Total Quality Management (generic term for 'continuous improvement' approach; Pharmaceutical Corp's in-house term is QPIC) |
[Index]
| 5FU | 5-fluorouracil (antineoplastic agent used for palliative treatment; re: indications for use of Pharmaceutical Corp's Campto/irinotecan/CPT-11) |
| ACE (as in ACE-inhibitor) | angiotensin-converting enzyme |
| AIDS | Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome |
| ALS | amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
(aka: Lou Gehrig's Disease, motor neuron disease) |
| ASCO | American Society of Clinical Oncology |
| ATM BDNF BMT |
animal testing procedure brain-derived neurotrophic factor (context: CNS; ALS) bone marrow transplant(ation) |
| BZD CABG CANDA |
benzodiazepine coronary artery bypass graft computer-assisted NDA |
| CCK | cholecystokinin |
| CCM | Coagulation, Circulation & Metabolism (Name of Pharmaceutical Corp Business Unit within Pharmaceutical Corp Germany--under Guenter Kehder (reporting to K J Preuss) as of 8/15/95) |
| CFC | chlorofluorocarbon |
| CHO CI |
Chinese Hamster Ovary (cells) confidence interval (statistics) |
| CMC | Chemistry, Management and Controls (group; Regulatory Affairs) |
| CMV | cytomegalovirus |
| CNRS | Centre National de Recherche Scientifique |
| CNS | central nervous system |
| CPMP | Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products (drug regulatory body for EU) |
| CRA | Clinical Research Associate |
| CRADA | Cooperative Research and Development Agreement |
| CRVA | Centre de Recherche Vitry-Alfortville (=Vitry Research Center) |
| CSF | cerebrospinal fluid |
| CSF | colony-stimulating factor |
| CSG | Clinical Screening Group |
| CTA | Clinical Trial Authorization (authorization to conduct a clinical trial in some European countries) |
| CTC or CTX | Clinical Trial Certificate / Clinical Trial Exemption (broadly equivalent to the US term 'IND,' but in the context of the UK) |
| DCC | Development Coordination Committee (part of Pharmaceutical Drug Development; its mission is to consolidate and coordinate all pharmaceutical drug development activities, from project-initiation to registration) |
| DMC | Development Management Committee (part of Pharmaceutical Drug Development; its mission is to provide the necessary interdisciplinary forum to ensure that managerial and organizational issues are addressed on a regular basis) |
| DU | Development Unit (a new, global, dedicated, and project-oriented R&D organization, whose mission is to expeditiously implement a development strategy that has been endorsed by the CDC. The DU also ensures optimization of the development and registration process worldwide) |
| DVT (re: enoxaparin) | deep vein (or: 'venous') thrombosis |
| EBV | Epstein-Barr virus |
| ELA
EMEA |
Establishment License Application
(term pertaining to gaining approval for a facility; US context) European Medicines Evaluation Agency |
| EORTC | European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer |
| ex vivo | Latin biomedical term used to refer to tests/studies not carried out in living subjects; literally: done 'outside the living body'; cf. 'in vivo' |
| G-CSF (re: lenograstim) | granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor |
| G.I./g.i. | gastrointestinal |
| GABA | gamma-aminobutyric acid |
| GvHD | graft-versus-host disease (re: organ/bone transplantation) |
| HCl/HCL HFA |
hydrochloride (e.g., diltiazem
HCL [Dilacor®]) hydrofluoroalkane ? |
| HIV | Human Immunodeficiency Virus |
| HTLV | Human T-cell Leukemia/Lymphoma Virus |
| i.v. | intravenous |
| IDE
IGF |
investigational device exemption
(e.g., FDA's 10/94 approval of a Phase I/II trial with AIS's CELLector® under an IDE) insulin-like growth factor (context: CNS; ALS) |
| IL | interleukin |
| in vitro | Latin biomedical term used to refer to studies/tests conducted in a test tube, Petri dish or some other artificial laboratory environment (i.e., not in a living organism) |
| in vivo | Latin biomedical term used to refer to tests or studies carried out in living subjects; literally: done 'in the living body'; cf. 'ex vivo' |
| IND | investigational new drug (application) [US context] |
| LHRH | luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone |
| LMWH (e.g. enoxaparin) | low-molecular-weight heparin |
| MAA | market(ing) authorization application (applies to products in a European or EU context) |
| MIC | minimum inhibitory concentration(s) |
| NCE | new chemical entity |
| NDA | new drug application (used in the context of the US and/or Japan) |
| NDS | new drug submission (applies to Canada) |
| NSAID | nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug |
| NSCE / NSCEs | new small chemical entity /entities |
| NSCLC | non-small-cell lung cancer |
| ODAC | Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee |
| OTC | over-the-counter (products/medicines) |
| PABA PBPC |
para-aminobenzoic acid peripheral blood progenitor cell |
| PCP | Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (re: Pentacarinat®) |
| PDE | phosphodiesterase (re: RP 73401--a clinically advanced PDE-IV-inhibitor) |
| PLA
PTCA |
Product License Application
(pertains to biotech-type products in a US or EU context) percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty |
| RAC | Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee |
| rHuG | recombinant human granulocyte |
| ROC | Research Operations Committee |
| SIDA
SOD |
French equivalent acronym of
English 'AIDS' (French expansion of SIDA: 'Syndrome immunodéficitaire acquis') superoxide dismutase |
| sNDA | supplemental NDA |
| STD
TAA |
Clinical/medical term: sexually
transmitted disease HR term: short-term disability triamcinolone acetonide |
| TK | thymidine kinase |
| TNF | tumor necrosis factor |
| URTI | upper respiratory tract infection(s) |
| VREF | vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus
faecium (re: Synercid; antibiotic resistance) |
CORPORATE (LEGAL, FINANCE, HR)
[Index]| 360-degree feedback | feedback from an individual employee's manager, direct report(s) and peers (i.e., everyone around him or her) |
| 401 (K) | (US) employee retirement plan; aka: 'CODA [cash or deferred arrangement]' or 'salary reduction plan'. Employee elects to contribute pretax dollars to a qualified tax-deferred retirement plan. |
| ADA | Americans with Disabilities Act (of 1990; compliance monitored and enforced by the EEOC) |
| ADR/ADS | American Depositary Receipts/American Depositary Shares; shares of foreign companies (i.e., Pharmaceutical Corp) that are traded on the New York Stock Exchange |
| CAP | Le Cycle annuel d'amélioration des performances [French term/acronym for PCDS, q.v.] |
| CEO | Chief Executive Officer |
| CFO | Chief Financial Officer |
| CIO | Chief Information Officer |
| COB | Commission des Opérations de Bourse (France's stock market watchdog, cf. the US SEC) |
| Compa ratio | HR term used as an index of an employee's level of compensation compared to the salary midpoint for his/her position and grade level. The comparatio is obtained by dividing the employee's annual salary by the salary midpoint (e.g., a comparatio of 1 means that the employee's salary is exactly at the midpoint of his/her range). |
| COO | Chief Operating Officer |
| EC | European Community (former name for EU [European Union]) |
| EEC | European Economic Community (same as EC above) |
| EEOC | Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (US) |
| EPS | earnings per share |
| EU | European Union (current name for
former 'Common Market,' 'European Economic Community,' and 'European Community'); consists
of 15 countries [as of 11/95]: Austria Belgium Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Ireland Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Portugal Spain Sweden United Kingdom |
| EVA / EVC | economic value added / economic value created (re: executive compensation--> linking senior manager performance to profitability (and compensating him/her accordingly) |
| FASB | (US) Financial Accounting Standards Board |
| GDP | gross domestic product |
| GNP | gross national product |
| HMO | Health Maintenance Organization (a specific type of 'managed care' organization; cf. 'PPO') |
| HRC | Human Resources Committee |
| HRMT | Human Resources Management Team |
| HRP | Human Resource(s) Planning |
| IBT | income before taxes |
| IDS | 'Information et Documentation Scientifiques', the French name of the Pharmaceutical Corp information service department that includes the Pharmaceutical Corp Collegeville Research Library. It translates to: "Scientific Information and Documentation" |
| IPO | initial public offering (stock/shares) |
| LTD | long-term disability |
| Ltd. | (primarily UK ) limited company, or limited-liability company [cf., PLC (public limited company)] |
| N+1 / n+1 | (Pharmaceutical Corp) HR shorthand term, used to denote an individual employee (N) and his/her immediate supervisor (N+1) |
| NYSE | New York Stock Exchange |
| P&L | Profit and Loss (sometimes used to refer to the Profit and loss Statement itself) |
| P/E or PE or PER | price/earnings ratio [= share price divided by EPS; aka: multiple] |
| PAF | performance-adjustment factor |
| PBMs | Pharmacy Benefit Management (companies) [e.g, PCS, Caremark, etc.] |
| PCDS | Performance and Career Development System (French equivalent term is 'CAP' q.v.) |
| PDM | Professional Development Manager |
| PDP | Professional Development Plan |
| PIP | Performance Improvement Plan |
| PLC | (UK) public limited company; a 'quoted' limited liability company (cf., 'Ltd.'). When an Ltd. entity has its share price quoted on the stock market, it becomes known as a PLC (e.g. Pharmaceutical Corp UK Ltd. is NOT a quoted company, hence its 'Ltd.' designation) |
| PPI | pharmaceutical price index |
| PPO | Preferred Provider Organization (a specific type of 'managed care organization') In a PPO, the insured can choose to obtain service/treatment inside or outside the ‘network.’ In an HMO, there is no choice. |
| PPRS | (UK) Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme |
| S.A. (e.g. RP S.A) | Société Anonyme (= US 'Inc.') |
| SEC | (US) Securities and Exchange Commission |
| STD | short-term disability |
| TVA | taxe sur la valeur ajoutée [= English 'VAT'] |
| VAT | value-added tax |
| YTD | year-to-date |
WIO / PROCESS
ENGINEERING / SAFETY
QUALITY ASSURANCE / MAINTENANCE
| AC | acceptance criteria |
| ANDA | abbreviated new drug application |
| BPC | bulk pharmaceutical chemicals |
| BS | British Standard |
| CA | compressed air |
| CBER | Center for Biological Evaluation and Research (part of FDA) |
| CCA | clean compressed air |
| CDER | Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (part of FDA) |
| CDRH | Center for Devices and Radiological Health |
| CFR | Code of Federal Regulations |
| cGMP | current Good Manufacturing Practice |
| DRF | Drug Master Files |
| EQ | Equipment Qualification (combination of IQ and OQ) |
| FOIA | Freedom of Information Act |
| GCPs | Good Clinical Practices |
| GLPs | Good Laboratory Practices |
| GMPs | Good Manufacturing Practices |
| HAZMAT or HazMat | hazardous materials |
| HSE | Health, Safety and the Environment |
| HVAC | Heating-Ventilation-Air Conditioning |
| ICH | International Conference on Harmonisation |
| IQ | Installation Qualification |
| ISO | International Standards Organization / International Organization for Standardization |
| MIL | Military Standard |
| MOUs | Memoranda of Understanding (issued by FDA) |
| NIST | National Institute of Standards and Technology |
| OQ | Operational Qualification |
| OSHA | Occupational Safety and Health Administration (under US Secretary of Labor) |
| PAI | Pre-Approval Inspection |
| PFS | prefilled syringe |
| PQ | Performance/Process Qualification |
| QA | Quality Assurance |
| TF-1 | Pharmaceutical Corp term for coefficient expressing incidence of on-the-job injuries; usually called "lost-time accidents" (French: "taux de fréquence") |
| WIO | Worldwide Industrial Operations (a business unit within Pharmaceutical Corp); equals ‘manufacturing’ |
[Index]
| Active Server Pages (ASP) . |
This recent Microsoft-specific technology allows use of Web server-side scripting using a Visual Basic like syntax. ASP is a powerful technology that is used for providing advanced interactive features and database interfaces to Web pages. |
| Animated GIFs | Graphic Interchange Format. A bit-mapped color-graphics file format, which is the preferred one to use if you want to put a graphic (as opposed to a photo) on a Web page. Animated GIFs tie two or more GIF files together to form a 'movie-like' image. |
| AZERTY | term used to refer to the normal French keyboard configuration (cf.'QWERTY') |
| CPU | central processing unit (or 'processor'; the part of the computer unit that operates on data) |
| DOS | disk-operating system |
| ESDI | 'enhanced small device interface'; another type of computer hardware interface/connector; cf. SCSI |
| FAQ | An acronym for Frequently Asked Questions. |
| Forms | Web pages allowing viewers to key-in information which can then submitted back to the Web-site server with the click of a button. Used for on-line applications such as surveys, registrations, etc. |
| Frames | Frames are a way of dividing a browser window into two or more parts. This allows the reader to scroll through one part, while leaving another part available at all times. |
| HTML | An acronym for HyperText Mark-up Language. HTML is the programming language to which electronic copy must be converted in order to be posted to the Internet. |
| IIS | Microsoft's Internet Information Server which is Pharmaceutical Corp's primary Web server software. |
| Java | An object-oriented, cross-platform programming language similar to C++, that is designed for building applications for the Internet. |
| JavaScript | A non-compiled client-side scripting language for use within Web pages. JavaScript is embedded within the HTML files and is interpreted and executed by the Web browser. JavaScript and Java are often confused as being the same. However, in actuality, they have little in common. |
| JPEG | Joint Photographic Expert Group. A file format using a compression technique to reduce the size of a graphics file by as much as 96 percent. JPEG is the preferred file format for photographs on a Web page. |
| QWERTY | term used to refer to the normal
English keyboard configuration (cf. 'AZERTY') |
| RAM | random access memory |
| RealAudio | An executable program that allows audio files to be played over the Internet; the .AU format audio file starts playing sound soon after you start downloading. |
| ROM | read-only memory |
| SCSI (e.g., adapter) | 'small computer system interface'' a type of computer hardware connection that permits interface with a PC. (pronounced "scuzzy/sexy"; cf. ESDI connector/adapter). |
| URL | An acronym for Uniform Resource Locator, used as a kind of address to identify a specific Web site -- and even specific pages within one Web site. |
| VBScript | A client-side scripting language similar to JavaScript. VBScript works only with the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser. Netscape browser products currently do not support VBScript. |
| Web Browser | A program such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator or Communicator that is used for browsing Internet or intranet Web pages. |
| WYSIWYG | Computer/IS term used to refer to a computer/printer interface environment in which'what you see on the screen is what you get' in the printer output. (literal expansion: 'what you see is what you get') The term is/was more often used to refer to a DOS environment in which that level of capability had been achieved. |
[Index]
| blueline | a photographic contact print of the negatives for a proposed publication. The 'blueline' is a late-stage proof that enables you to judge whether everything has been put together correctly (i.e., copy, layout, design). |
| IFD | (Pharmaceutical Corp) International Facilities Directory |
| layout proof | a drawing, sketch or computer printout of a proposed printed piece (whether a poster, a brochure, newsletter, magazine, etc.) |
| PR Newswire | an information wire service used by Pharmaceutical Corp to gather/request information on various business topics (available on CompuServe, Nexus) and also used to wire our press releases to the news media around the world |
| press release | the information and the message contained in a press release typically serve as the official and formal notification of the news media (and consequently, investors and financial analysts) of a development, accomplishment or event that pertains to, or may impact, the company. Press releases are carefully written so as to apprise the public of the facts concerning the news item or message in question, and to reflect the company's official posture with respect to an event or development. |
[Index]
| AM | Area Manager |
| Brand Plan | aka: Business Plan |
| BTL | Business Team Leader |
| BUD | Business Unit Director |
| BUMD | Business Unit Marketing Director |
| CAD | Corporate Account Director |
| POA | Plan of Action (Sales Training meetings) |
| RAM | Regional Account Manager |
| ZD | Zone Director |