Dr. Scott Patterson (Director of Statistical Science, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals) shared information on exciting new developments in the world of statistical software. SAS Institute has released new software that enables SAS users to implement Bayesian methods as part of PROC GENMOD (generalized linear models), PROC LIFEREG (accelerated life failure models) and PROC PHREG (Cox regression models and piecewise constant baseline hazard models). The software can be freely downloaded from the SAS web site and run under SAS Release 9.1.3 for Windows.

Dr. Patterson pointed out that "this is a promising step forward for those who wish to utilize Bayesian strategies in practical application to drug development. Availability of this programming technology from SAS in addition to the capabilities of WinBUGS promises to make these techniques and approaches to inference more accessible and amenable to clinical practice."

For more information about the software, visit the SAS Institute's web site or download the documentation (PDF file, 168 pages).