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.

Translating regulatory documentation requires the same expertise as translating advertising material?

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.

Can the desktop publishing service be provided as an independent service?

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.

Is there a method for establishing translation rates?

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.

Do I have to send the file(s) to get a quote?

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).

Medical & Pharmaceutical Translation Services

SERVICES

Vital Translations is a specialised language service provider offering translation and other linguistic services in the language pair English-Spanish to help pharma and biotech companies reach Spanish-speaking and English-speaking markets with their key scientific, regulatory and promotional documents.

MEDICAL
TRANSLATION

PHARMACEUTICAL
TRANSLATION

LEGAL
TRANSLATION

AUDIVISUAL
TRANSLATION

MARKETING
TRANSLATION

MTPE

DESKTOP
PUBLISHING

MEDICAL TRANSLATION

Medical translation encompasses the translation of medical texts generated in the medical practice and the healthcare industry to aid communication between healthcare professionals to facilitate knowledge sharing and with patients to assist them in their journey throughout the time of care and across all the care settings. Medical texts include academic, scientific, pharmaceutical and medtech literature, patient medical records, patient-facing material, public health material, and so forth.

Medical translation is much more than mastering medical terminology. Medical translators need to have medical and healthcare domain knowledge.

Vital specialised medical translators’ comprehensive knowledge of clinical practices, patient care and healthcare systems allow them to properly interpret the original medical texts and produce translated versions that suit the needs of the intended audience. Same background knowledge, different language approaches to convey the medical information in a medico-scientific language for experts or in plain language for patients and/or their caregivers, and the public in general.

Need a medical translation?

PHARMACEUTICAL TRANSLATION

Pharmaceutical translation covers the translation of highly regulated technical and scientific texts generated during the different stages of drug development.

During drug discovery and development, translation of key documents facilitates communication among multinational research teams, between sponsor and principal investigator, and between sponsor/investigator or manufacturer and the competent regulatory authority. During the registration process in a foreign country, full or partial translation of the new drug dossier application is crucial for regulatory approval when the original data is in a language different to the one spoken in the target market.

Pharmaceutical translators are medical translators with a specialisation in the pharmaceutical industry. Vital Translators are highly specialised translators with deep medical domain knowledge and conversant with all the stages in the journey of a new medicinal product from the lab to the patients.

Need a pharmaceutical translation?

LEGAL TRANSLATION

Medical legal translation is the translation of highly sensitive documents where medical and healthcare content converge within a legal framework. They include clinical documents with patient care information and rights as well as administrative, operational and compliance documents.

Pharmaceutical legal translation covers regulatory-related documentation that is exchanged between sponsor/investigator/manufacturer and the competent regulatory authority and translation of any related documents that help support regulatory compliance.

Specialised translators in the medical and pharmaceutical fields with legal and regulatory domain knowledge are crucial for the translation of this type of documentation. Vital translators not only have the subject matter knowledge required but the expertise to help with the translations of legal texts in the context of drug development and medical practice.

Need a legal translation in the medical or pharmaceutical fields?

AUDIVISUAL TRANSLATION

Medical and pharmaceutical information can also come in the form of spoken text (with or without visual components) as is the case with recorded audio or video presentations in congresses, seminars, symposiums as well as video capsules and podcasts.

Audiovisual translation requires the additional services of audio transcription, subtitle creation and on-screen (OST) text extraction, particularly when the original information on the screen is not available in an editable format. These pre-translation processes help convert spoken and/or OST text into written text for translation.

Vital Translations offers audio transcription both in English and Spanish as well as creation of files with subtitle format ready for display on video platforms and media players, both as independent services or as part of the translation process.

Need an audio transcription or a video subtitling service?

MARKETING TRANSLATION

Marketing translation covers the translation of the promotional material generated by pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies to promote their products.

Translation of promotional material (whether on paper or for digital channels) to reach healthcare professionals, payers, institutions; direct-to-consumer advertising (where it is legally permitted) as well as patient educational material and disease-focused awareness campaigns are vital for product introduction into the new target market.

Vital team of specialised translators in the medical and pharmaceutical fields as well as in creative translation (also called transcreation) can help with the translation of key drug promotional material to help reach the intended audience in the target market.

Need the translation of key pharma and biotech promotional material?

MACHINE-TRANSLATION
POST-EDITING

Modern AI engines are currently reshaping the translation industry by offering instant translations of a wide range of standard texts. However, generating quality translated versions of highly specialised texts, especially in the medical and pharmaceutical fields, is still a complex task for machines.

Machine-translation post-editing (MTPE) is the necessary task to be conducted on raw automated translations to produce final quality-acceptable translated versions. This crucial step combines the best of machine translation (speed) and the best of human translation (knowledge and applicability).

Vital Translations creates a synergy between non-human intelligences and human intelligence to produce fast and quality translations to meet the demands of the accelerating speed of innovation in pharma and biotech industries.

Need MTPE for the automated translation of your key documents?

DESKTOP PUBLISHING

Desktop publishing or DTP is a creative process in which graphic design experts combine different content elements such as text, data, images and graphics into coherent and professional layouts for print and digital media.

Applied to translation, DTP is one of the final stages of the translation process where the translated content (either created by humans or generated with AI systems) is arranged into a final visual layout that reflects the original source layout.

Vital in-house team of graphic designers help us convert the translated text into a formatted final file that matches the original source document. This service is an integral part of the translation process but it can also be provided as an independent service.

Medical & Pharmaceutical Translation Services