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Translation and Interpretation: Same language service?

Translation and interpretation are usually considered the same type of language service. However, these two language services have different approaches and serve distinct purposes in the...
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What you need to know about Medical and Pharmaceutical Translation

Translating medical and pharmaceutical texts requires linguistic expertise, translation studies, but, most importantly, background knowledge of different scientific disciplines such as...
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Curso de especialización en traducción médica y farmacéutica

Para acceder a este campo laboral tan técnico y especializado, y ofrecer traducciones que contribuyan a los procesos de los clientes, el traductor debe...
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Anatomy and Physiology of Pharma Texts

Due to the highly regulated nature of the pharma industry, lots of documents are generated (and need to be translated). Documents containing information about...
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What is VitalUNI?

VitalUNI is a training platform developed by Vital Translations. Our senior specialised medical translators have developed courses to address the need of an integral training in medical and pharmaceutical translation.
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El traductor médico no nace, se hace

Los traductores que deseen especializarse en el campo de la traducción médica y farmacéutica deben formarse en química, bioquímica, anatomía, fisiología, farmacología, farm...
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Highlighted Articles

Donanemab Approved for Treatment of Early Alzheimer’s Disease

By slowing progression of the disease when taken in the early stages of Alzheimer's, donanemab can allow people to have more time to participate in daily life and live independently.

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  • Clinical Research, Neurology, Patients, Pharma & Biotech, Therapeutic Areas, Translation Services

Weight maintenance after discontinuation of GLP-1 therapies

Evidence from RCTs and real-world data consistently shows that discontinuation leads to reversal of cardiometabolic improvements and restoration of prior risk factors.

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  • Clinical Research, Endocrinology, Therapeutic Areas, Translation Services

Pfizer and Innovent Biologics ink $10.5 billion oncology deal

Pfizer and Innovent Biologics have entered into a collaboration agreement for the research and development of a portfolio of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).

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  • Clinical Research, Community, Immunology, Oncology, Targeted Therapies, Translation Services

Gene Editing for CEP290-Associated Retinal Degeneration

EDIT-101 is a gene-editing therapy mediated by clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)–CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) that is designed to permanently remove the CEP290 IVS26 variant.

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  • Clinical Research, Community, Ophthalmology, Therapeutic Areas, Translation Services

New KIR-CAR T cell therapy shows promise in multiple solid cancers

The findings represent the first clinical data for this KIR-CAR, which uses natural killer (NK) cell-like receptors to overcome T cell exhaustion and limit side effects.

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  • Clinical Research, Oncology, Patients, Targeted Therapies, Therapeutic Areas, Translation Services

AI-Driven Drug Discovery: Transforming the Landscape of Pharmaceutical Research

Artificial intelligence (AI) moves R&D from a sequential trial-and-error model to a predictive, data-driven architecture.

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  • Artificial Intelligence, Clinical Research, Laboratories, Pharmaceutical Industry, Translation Services

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Are translation and interpretation the same kind of language service?

No. Although both translation and interpretation are language services that require the linguists in charge to be proficient in both the source language and the target language, have translation skills as well as subject matter knowledge on the topic they are working with and be accurate in conveying the tone and intent of the original message, these services serve different purposes. The translation service implies working with written text. Translators work with different types of documents to be printed, published online or even exchanged with other people. The interpretation service implies working with speech; that is, spoken text. Interpreters can work in situ, for example, in meetings, congresses, seminars, over the phone or via videocall. Whether you need a translation service or an interpretation service, always trust certified professional linguists.

No. The translation of regulatory documentation requires in-depth knowledge of the source and target regulatory affairs as well as of the terminology of mandatory use in the pharmaceutical industry to provide high-quality and timely translations and help avoid delays during drug authorisation and registration processes. The translation of advertising materials requires subject matter knowledge plus a touch of creativity, a combination of translation and copywriting skills to transfer the creative language —generally lost during a direct translation— into the target language to achieve the desired response from the target audience.

Yes. The desktop publishing (DTP) service can be provided as an integrated part of the translation process or as an independent service. In the first case, the client sends us the file for translation, and we then deliver a translated file that keeps the integrity of the original design. In the second case, the client sends the linguistic content and the specifications for page layout and a team of experts in the field of desktop publishing generates page layouts and produces printed or digital materials using DTP software. In both cases, we can advise the client on professional output aligned with the target language’s visual layout and design requirements.

Yes. The method for establishing translation rates is based on source word count, language pair, complexity of the document, project volume and urgency of delivery. When clients contact us to get a quote, we analyse the file(s) to determine total word count and the complexity of the file(s) and we also take into account the language pair; for example, if it is English into Spanish, or Spanish into English. Special discount rates may apply in big-volume projects and extra “rush charges” may apply in the case of urgent deliveries.

Yes. To be able to provide a quote, we first need to analyse the file(s) to determine the word count, the complexity and the translation steps that would be involved in the whole translation process; that is, we need to evaluate whether there is non-editable text that needs to be converted into editable text to be translated, determine the total word count to estimate the translation time and delivery date, and assess whether the file(s) require desktop publishing (DTP). To be able to provide an accurate quote, we need to see and analyse the file(s).