Don’t get lost in translation: How SCA simplifies Pharma authoring complexities

For many Life Sciences organizations, a leading challenge — on top of a very long product development cycle — is that the work is completed across departments, time zones, and even languages. Many pharma content teams must work collaboratively using tools that don’t support an efficient exchange of information, especially when you factor in translation and localization.

If your organization is still using Microsoft Word for your content authoring, reviewing and publishing, this is for you. Below, we’ll explore how a structured component authoring (SCA) platform can optimize the pharma information writing process — even if you’re working with individuals who happen to be on the other side of the globe.

How is SCA different from typical publishing programs?

Familiar desktop publishing platforms such as Microsoft Word have become a standard in many industries as the go-to option for any type of written content. The trouble is, programs like this aren’t always ideal for teams that need to collaborate on complex documents. Whether it’s the hundreds of paragraphs or hundreds of people involved in the typical drug and product development process, it’s no surprise that Life Sciences needs a better option for content authoring.

Structured component or content authoring is an evolution of basic word processing. With old programs, you could only have one author, or one organization at best, working on a document at a time. SCA allows countless authors, reviewers and other authorized users to access the same document in a controlled manner.

A good SCA solution should enable version control, auditing, content locking and reuse, as well as enhanced capabilities like translation or exporting into different formats. An even better SCA platform will not only perform all the functions listed above, it will also have a simplistic, intuitive interface that helps medical content authors do what they were hired to do: write.

What are the challenges with content translation for the Life Sciences?

Pharma content translation requires a high level of accuracy, precision, and attention to detail because it deals with critical and highly-regulated information. Additionally, content also often requires localization to ensure that the content is appropriate and relevant to different audiences, which involves taking into account cultural differences.

Because Life Sciences content is subject to rigorous quality assurance procedures to ensure accuracy, consistency, and compliance with regulatory requirements and must comply with regulations, translation is typically performed by professionals who have specific and relevant subject matter expertise. While this might just be one step in the content development process, it becomes more complicated when there are hundreds of pages of content at various stages of approval, when authoring, reviewing and updating is happening on disparate platforms and programs.

How an SCA solution with translation capabilities can benefit Pharma teams

There is a better option than people working across disconnected systems. Enter, an innovative SCA solution with translation capabilities. Now, instead of moving a piecemeal document across multiple users and programs, translation can happen in the same workflow where authoring and reviews are also happening. By confining the process to one platform, you can reduce opportunities for errors and streamline workflows for a more controlled and efficient process.

How translation works within an SCA platform

When an SCA solution has translation capabilities, authors can opt to create a local project

for the desired locale or country and select a translation workflow — without ever leaving the platform. Users can save to an XML Localization Interchange File Format (XLIFF) file to enable translation of medical documentation, while maintaining the original formatting and structure of the document. This allows medical professionals or translators to collaborate on the translation process from the same platform.

Docuvera: Where to find an SCA solution that translates

Docuvera is a single platform where pharma content teams can author, review, approve, translate, and publish regulated documents by reusing approved, compliant component content. With applications such as clinical, global labeling, medical information as well as chemistry manufacturing and controls, Docuvera is designed with efficiency and ROI in mind — and specifically for Life Sciences applications.

To learn more about how Docuvera can help your pharma organization avoid getting lost in document translation, connect with one of our experts today.