IMS Health said it signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately held insight and analytics company SDI Health, bringing together two of the largest pharmaceutical marketing research firms. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Both companies declined to discuss the acquisition beyond a joint statement released last month. Unnamed company sources told Ed Silverman, who first reported the deal on his Pharmalot blog, that as much as 15% of SDI staff could lose their jobs as a result of the acquisition.
Like IMS, SDI provides prescription data. It also tracks a robust set of promotional information, including pharma company spending on detailing, meetings and events and ePromotion activities.
“The acquisition will enable more robust patient and specialty analytics, and will give IMS the ability to provide a broader set of stakeholders with clinically rich insights from all healthcare channels, including hospitals, providers and pharmacies,” the joint statement said. “The addition of SDI’s complementary information assets and capabilities positions IMS to improve existing offerings, fuel new investments and deliver greater innovation and value to a healthcare industry that is seeking to drive increased efficiencies as a result of significant, ongoing pressure to reduce costs and expand patient access.”
Gary Gatyas, an IMS Health spokesperson, declined to speculate on timing for the completion of the deal, citing pre-merger notification requirements with respect to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.
From the February 01, 2011 Issue of MM+M - Medical Marketing and Media
