We spoke to Mark Shriner, Director of Strategic Sales at memoQ and host of the memoQ talks podcast. Through years of experience and speaking to many companies in the life sciences field, Mark is an expert on medical-technical translations and focuses on expanding memoQ’s presence in the regulated industries of life sciences and financial services. We spoke to him about his field of work, the biggest challenges when it comes to medical-technical translations, and what the future holds for the translation industry.
Tell us a little bit about yourself. What does your job entail?
I joined memoQ in early 2021 as Director of Strategic Sales as the first person in this role. Since 2008, I’ve worked in a variety of roles in the localization industry. I greatly appreciate the high level of autonomy and support I’m given at memoQ. However, I need to continually look for ways to be more effective and search for opportunities to bring value to the localization communities.
You also co-host the memoQ talks podcast, where you speak to industry leaders about the best practices and important lessons learned related to all areas of localization. What were the most exciting topics you talked about?
Recently, I’ve interviewed subject matter experts on memoQ talks and moderated a memoQ Life Sciences Round Table on the topic of linguistic validation (LV). LV is an important process used by organizations in the life sciences to ensure that the translation of certain content including patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures is linguistically accurate, readable, and understandable by the target audience. This process governs both how content used for and collected during clinical trials is translated. During the podcast and round table event, we discussed trends in technology, training, and best practices for LV service providers.
Could you tell us more about what LV entails?
Well, documents used for cognitive debriefing interviews would need to be accurately translated in a manner that laypersons in the target audience can understand. In short, the text needs to be both true to the source and easily understood by the target audience. The most commonly used LV process includes two forward translations consolidation or “harmonization” of the FTs, single or double back translations, and a review step. Each of these steps requires step-specific knowledge and may be executed in a somewhat different manner depending on the project and content type to which it is being applied.
Sounds interesting! As we know, life sciences translations pose specific challenges when it comes to producing high-quality translations. What would you say are the key differences Language Service Providers (LSPs) need to consider between life science translation services and other technical translations?
For starters, an incorrect translation could have life-threatening repercussions. For that reason, life science translation has very high targets for accuracy and readability. The life sciences industry is very highly regulated and provides strong guidance on how content should be presented and translated. I have heard that many LSPs find it challenging to find qualified medical translators who have experience with linguistic validation processes and understand the requirements for readability. Additionally, as distributed trials become increasingly common, LSPs are being forced to adopt technology that will support the required processes. Most translation management systems (TMS) don’t fully support some of the complicated workflows, such as linguistic validation (LV). So, for memoQ, that was both a challenge and an opportunity and resulted in us developing our TMS to provide support for LV workflows.
In your opinion, what is the most important factor for buyers of translations within this field?
Quality is the baseline requirement for sure. Nothing else matters if you can’t get the quality to the appropriate level. After that, I’d say that security and turn-around times are next in line. Pricing is always a concern, but thankfully, in life sciences translation it usually isn’t the deciding factor.
After pricing, data security and turnaround times have been sorted out: are there any secrets to success in life science localization that you can share with us?
It’s important to have deep subject matter expertise and to be able to help guide your customers through the various regulatory, privacy, logistical, and linguistic challenges that are continually present in life sciences localization. I would definitely feel more comfortable working with an organization that adheres to standards such as ISO 13485 and ISO 18587. From what I’ve heard from industry experts, many medical device manufacturers will only work with vendors that have earned the ISO 13485 certification.
Do you remember some best practices from LSPs or life science companies on how to manage localization and translation projects?
I think the most important best practices include getting the right people in the right roles following a well-defined process. Secondly, providing continual feedback and learning opportunities is critical to foster personal and team development.In your experience, what role can or does MT play in life science translation?
MT can be used for a variety of applications in life sciences including translating research articles, monitoring social media channels for patterns of outbreaks, and quickly translating documents in the pharmacovigilance process. It is also used by life sciences organizations to translate internal communication.
Of course, implementing MT is crucial to keep up with the localization industry...but do you see any risks concerning the use of MT in life sciences translations?
The risks of using MT vary depending on where and how it is being used. Clearly using a public tool such as Google Translate would present potential security and quality issues. But even with private tools that are highly customized, there can be potential accuracy and readability issues for some types of content. For example, forward translations in linguistic validation workflows need to be both accurate and highly readable for the target audience. However, it is essential to keep in mind that even if the text has been accurately translated, the ability of most MT engines to meet readability requirements for lay people in the target language and culture is, to date, still limited.
Take a look into the crystal ball: what do you think the future holds for this industry, especially when it comes to translation and localization in life sciences? Especially considering the rise of ChatGPT...
Well, they say that “the one constant is change” and that’s what my crystal ball is telling me. There will be more disruptions, yet also new opportunities. In life sciences, the volume of content will continue to dramatically increase as the number and the nature of clinical trials, as well as the number and types of medical devices, research, the applications of e-health platforms, and the growth of previously underserved markets, all continue to grow. This volume will present a challenge that will be met, at least partially, by technology. However, I do not think humans will be replaced in the translation process! I think our roles may change and we will use technology to become more productive and more effective in the work we do.
Thank you for taking the time to talk to us!
» If you would like to hear more from Mark Shriner, check out the memoQ talks podcast here.
Main image © András Mayer
