The Anatomy of Life Sciences Translation
Ccaps has had plenty of first-hand experience in the life sciences field. It started in
2003 when we completed a major project for a German pharmaceutical company that
was opening a branch in Brazil. Our task was to translate the technical specifications of
medicines manufactured in Europe that were to be imported to Brazil when the
“generic rave” started in the country. The 500,000-word project involved seven
different language pairs, including some more complex ones, like Croatian into
Brazilian Portuguese and Dutch into English.
Recently, we received an assignment from a US-based client to translate the 50,000word brochure of a new medication being launched into the Brazilian market. The main
challenge was a tight deadline paired with the client’s extremely high quality
standards. To accurately decipher the complex terminology involved and ensure
consistency, we called upon the Ccaps team of life sciences translators. This group,
formed by 11 professionals (including MDs and chemists) have ample experience with
the most diverse fields, ranging from in vitro diagnosis to clinical pharmacology to
sports medicine. The project was a success, inspiring us to create the Life Sciences
edition of the Ccaps Newsletter.
For this special edition, we have dissected the intricacies of life sciences translation to
bring you a complete diagnosis of the topic. We have included different perspectives
from industry experts and specialized translators for our readers to have a healthier
approach to this ever-growing segment in the translation and localization industry.
In her article entitled “Ever-Changing English: A Translator’s Headache,” translator
Anne Jones shares her personal experience with the peculiarities of the constantlychanging English language and how they affect medical translations. Besides the
unconventional conversion of nouns into verbs, she also discusses the slash and the
ellipsis phenomena and the complications that these present for translators. Translator
Diego Alfaro discusses the inconsistent use of both foreign and translated terms in life
sciences documents and the lack of experience by those who perform the translation
work in his article entitled “Difficulties in Translating Medical Texts.” Finally, industry
expert Andres Heuberger provides an in-depth look at how the medical device industry
uses Content Management Systems (CMSs) and the unique role played by localization
in “Medical Manufacturing Benefits from the Use of CMS.”
As always, your feedback is warmly appreciated. Share your comments and
suggestions by sending an e-mail to newsletter@ccaps.net. And thanks for reading!