IMS Health, the world's leading provider of market intelligence to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, announced that it is acquiring the Life Sciences practice of Strategic Decisions Group (SDG), the leader in portfolio strategy consulting to the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
By bringing together SDG's strategic consulting competencies and strengths in portfolio integration with IMS's extensive global information assets, analytics and consulting capabilities, clients will gain access to critical new market intelligence for driving evidence-based portfolio and resource allocation decisions.
"This combination will provide clients with a broader range of services and deeper strategic insights earlier in the product development process," said Ray Hill, general manager, IMS Global Consulting. "We look forward to leveraging SDG's unmatched experience and expertise to help our clients go from portfolio strategy to implementation more efficiently and with lower risk."
Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, SDG's Life Sciences practice has consultants located in offices in New York City, Boston, Houston and London. SDG's work in the pharmaceutical industry is widely recognized, and its industry-standard portfolio planning frameworks have transformed the way investment decisions are evaluated and implemented. SDG will continue to operate and serve clients in energy and chemicals, technology and financial services, as well as other industries, following the acquisition of its Life Sciences practice by IMS.
"We are excited about this opportunity to dramatically increase the value of our services to the pharmaceutical industry," said Robin Arnold, CEO of SDG and a leading partner in the Life Sciences Practice. "By blending SDG's historical strengths with IMS's consulting, forecasting and competitive intelligence as well as its rich information assets, SDG can now deliver real-time market performance insight to support clients' needs across the entire portfolio planning continuum - from R&D through product maturity."
Operating in more than 100 countries, IMS Health is the world's leading provider of market intelligence to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. With $1.8 billion in 2005 revenue and more than 50 years of industry experience, IMS offers leading-edge business intelligence products and services that are integral to clients' day-to-day operations, including portfolio optimization capabilities; launch and brand management solutions; sales force effectiveness innovations; managed care and over-the-counter offerings; and consulting and services solutions that improve ROI and the delivery of quality healthcare worldwide.