AstraZeneca does data deal
pharmafile | January 13, 2012 | News story | Sales and Marketing | AstraZeneca, IMS Health, data
AstraZeneca has signed a deal with an information company in a bid to improve the data it has on how existing drugs are already working in patient populations.
The three-year agreement with IMS Health, for an undisclosed sum, gives the firm access to current European electronic health records which carry data on clinical outcomes, costs and treatment patterns.
The anonymised records will help AstraZeneca “understand the impact of our medicines in the real world, beyond what we see in controlled clinical trials”, says Martin Mackay, the company’s president of R&D.
For the pharma sector, the attraction of so-called ‘real world’ data is in how it can illuminate areas such as Value-Based Pricing, or the ways in which patient pathways work in practice.
It will be of particular use, for example, if it enables firms to prove that a treatment reduced the time patients have to stay in hospital, or lowered the readmission rate.
Such information, with an emphasis on chronic illnesses in this case, may also provide a window into current unmet needs, as well as being of use in discovery and clinical development programmes.
“This insight will help us and healthcare decision-makers to improve the treatment of disease and ensure effective use of medicines to minimise the burden on individuals and healthcare budgets,” Mackay added.
“This joint initiative reflects a shared perspective on the transformative power of real-world evidence on global health systems,” said Jon Resnick, IMS vice president of real-world evidence solutions.
The companies also plan to jointly develop a customised research and data analysis platform.
It is not the first time AstraZeneca has dipped a toe into this particular pool, it has a similar arrangement in the US with data provider HealthCore.
Adam Hill
Related Content
NICE recommends Benralizumab for Rare Form of Vasculitis
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended AstraZeneca’s benralizumab (Fasenra) as …
NICE approves AstraZeneca’s dual immunotherapy for advanced liver cancer
AstraZeneca has received a positive recommendation from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence …
Purpose and people: the enduring power of brand and the evolution of employer identity
Two decades ago, terms like purpose and people were rarely at the forefront of branding …
