Hitachi, Ltd. and NextDocs Corporation today announced their newly formed partnership in document management solutions for pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Specifically, NextDocs and Hitachi will provide NextDocs Document Management System to the life sciences companies in Japan. NextDocs will provide software licenses and solutions to customers and Hitachi will provide supporting services including business consulting, system integration, training, operation, and validation support for drug regulations. NextDocs will provide necessary support to Hitachi sales, marketing and technical personnel.

Many pharmaceutical companies accelerate globalization of research and development and they must submit applications and receive approval of new drug candidates in the Japan-Europe-U.S. trilateral framework. NextDocs Document Management System is an out-of-the-box software solution which makes it easier to manage trilateral common application documents. It is also compliant with FDA 21 CFR PART 11, which deals with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines on electronic records and electronic signatures in the United States. NextDocs Document Management System runs on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. Customers are able to reduce costs for program development and shorten times for implementation by using NextDocs standard functions and the content management functions of Microsoft SharePoint Server 2007. NextDocs Document Management System has been adopted by over 30 pharmaceutical and medical device companies around the world, and NextDocs continues to gain market share.

Hitachi delivers total solutions for all business processes of pharmaceutical manufacturers such as research and development, production, logistics and sales, and Hitachi has considerable experience especially in regulation consulting, business process consulting, and system implementation.

This partnership is part of Hitachi's ongoing plan to strengthen solutions in the area of pharmaceutical research and development.

In a message from Hiroshi Maeda, Executive officer, Microsoft Japan Maeda said, "Microsoft welcomes the partnership between Hitachi, Ltd. and NextDocs Corporation as the document management solution for pharmaceutical manufacturers. NextDocs Document Management System, which runs on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, has been adopted abroad by large pharmaceutical companies, and Japanese pharmaceutical customers' interest in NextDocs continues to increase." Maeda continued by saying, "Hitachi has a lot of experience in systems integration for manufacturers, and I'm convinced this partnership will accelerate the adoption of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server in the business areas of Japanese pharmaceutical customers and increase its value Microsoft will continue to create new opportunities with Hitachi."

ABOUT NextDocs
NextDocs is the worldwide leader in providing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server-based document, quality and compliance management software for life sciences companies. By taking advantage of the built-in functionality in SharePoint and adding the needed functionality for process, workflow, auditing, document portability, NextDocs provides leading edge and innovative solutions to meet the changing needs of Life Sciences companies.

Designed specifically for life sciences, NextDocs is fully 21 CFR Part 11 compliant and adds features to SharePoint necessary for common business process functions and regulatory compliance. For more information on NextDocs, please visit http://www.nextdocs.com.

ABOUT HITACHI
Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501) is a leading global technological and industrial company with total revenues of JPY 10,000 billion ($102.0 billion) for the year ended March 31, 2009. Hitachi's business is highly diversified, encompassing operations in the following seven segments: Information & Telecommunication Systems; Electronic Devices; Power & Industrial Systems; Digital Media & Consumer Products; High Functional Materials & Components; Logistics, Services & Others; and Financial Services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit Hitachi's website at http://www.hitachi.com.