Truven Health Analytics, a leading provider of healthcare analytics and data solutions and services, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Heartbeat Experts, the global leader in stakeholder management solutions for the life sciences industry. The strategic acquisition combines Truven’s market-leading life sciences research capabilities with Heartbeat Experts’ global key opinion leader and market access stakeholder analytics.

Together, the combined businesses will provide life sciences clients with a complete solution set both for quantifying the value of a new drug or medical device and for targeting and reaching key decision-makers who are critical to approval and adoption of new treatments. With its global stakeholder management solutions, Heartbeat Experts helps life sciences firms identify and target the most qualified stakeholders, including physicians, government officials, regulatory affairs personnel, key industry groups, health plans, and others involved in new drug and medical device approval and commercialization.

"In the era of value-based reimbursement, it is critical to have a strong value message that connects with the right clinical and economic decision-makers," said Mike Boswood, Truven Health Analytics president and CEO. "With this acquisition, we will be able to provide life sciences clients with the ability to define value together with the tools they need to showcase that value to relevant audiences."

Heartbeat Experts' current client list includes all of the top 20 pharmaceutical and 75% of the top medical device companies. The company operates in 22 countries and has offices in New York, Brussels, Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, and London. With repeated year-over-year double-digit sales growth, this innovator in the life sciences industry has global reach into every critical pharmaceutical market including emerging markets, and most recently has developed social network mapping technologies to help further access to key stakeholders.

"The relationship between drug value and cost has never been more closely scrutinized globally than it is today, making it critical for pharmaceutical and medical device companies to engage in meaningful discussions with health plans and other payers, health economists, clinical experts, employers, and regulatory affairs personnel," said Larry Cohen, Heartbeat Experts president. "By joining forces with Truven Health Analytics, we are making it possible for life sciences professionals to invest those conversations with the kinds of prescient insights and hard data that help decision-makers around the world to understand the value of the product they are considering."

With this acquisition, Truven Heath will offer a comprehensive range of analytics, data management, stakeholder engagement, strategic consulting, and health economics and outcomes research services to life sciences companies, in addition to its broad range of analytics solutions and services for hospitals and health systems, government agencies, and employers.