An in-country review (ICR), also referred to as an in-house review, is an essential step in life science translations. With translations for industries 
such as medical, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnologies, accuracy is of the utmost importance. Generally, in-country reviews will be undertaken by someone on the client’s side. This role requires a fluent native speaker of the target language and someone who is familiar with the industry and product. This important step helps you ensure that your translations ring true for the target location in all aspects. A reviewer will look for accuracy in terminology and messaging, while verifying that it meets the requirements for a particular audience linguistically and culturally. In the life science industry, this could be anything from compliance documentation to marketing materials.
Prepare for Review
Having everything ready for your in-country review can save you time. Some things to consider:
Provide glossaries and style guides. Since in-country reviews are often performed by an employee with first hand knowledge of the product, it is important for them to be able to reference any agreed-on terms and translations. Having this readily available will save time for your reviewer.
Establish a workflow. Having a workflow enables your reviewer to follow a set path and avoid unnecessary steps.
Set clear guidelines for your reviewer so that they are aware of their role and all expectations. The in-country reviewer is not in the role of translator, but rather an outside set of eyes. By defining their role and expectations you enable the reviewer to focus on the task at hand.
Your Language Service Provider (LSP) matters
While an in-country review can seem like a massive undertaking in both time and effort, your LSP can help. The better the translation that your LSP can provide, the smoother you ICR will go. For starters, having updated glossaries and style guides allows your provider to complete the best translation possible. Additionally, look for an LSP that has experience with localization testing. With localization testing they will check for functional and cosmetic properties, as well as linguistic validation.
Often times, when translating into different languages, the size and style of writing will be different affecting the overall look and feel of a document. A language service provider with desk-top-publishing (DTP) experience can ensure that any changes during translations are consistent visually and functionally. And finally, look to providers who can perform back translations if you require it. Back translation, often used with highly detailed or important documentation, is a process that takes the translated version of text and re-translates it back into its source language. This enables translators to confirm that the translated text is linguistically sound. When you have high-quality translations from the start, the job will go smoother for your in-country reviewer.
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Learn more about CSOFT’s dedicated Life Sciences blog: The Word Lab.
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