IQVIA 'Rethinks Research in Healthcare'

IQVIA - formerly QuintilesIMS - has launched a suite of 'Virtual Research Solutions', which use technology and advanced analytics to radically rethink patient experience research for both clinical and health outcomes purposes.

QuintilesIMS was formed in 2016 from the merger of IMS Health and healthcare consultancy Quintiles, a deal which valued the combined company at $17.6bn. Eighteen months later it changed its name to IQVIA.

The new solutions make use of the firm's massive data assets, advanced analytics capabilities and domain expertise for a 'people-based' approach to trials and late-phase studies. Smart, connected devices and remote-monitoring systems are linked to a dedicated virtual network of investigators and local healthcare providers, focusing on patient privacy but allowing for more incremental and less intrusive feedback mechanisms. Data is fed into the IQVIA Study Hub, a virtual research technology platform designed to coordinate research and workflows, support patient communications, and seamlessly capture study activity throughout the patient journey.

The firm says the new suite 'addresses those more complex research situations where patients cannot easily get to sites, where long-term safety studies may require years of follow-up, and where research with more patient-centric outcomes can be collected digitally'.

Richard Staub (pictured), President of the firm's R&D Solutions, comments: 'IQVIA's advances in technologies and analytics, combined with our expanding understanding of how the human experience informs human health, all point to an opportunity to rethink research in healthcare. For instance, significant distances between patients and investigators, heavy time commitments for research participants, low patient enrollment and high dropout rates are challenges researchers regularly face. Our virtual solution minimizes trial impact on patient lives, while maximizing patient and customer experience as well as the number and diversity of participants. It also improves the study's value, evidence-generation, and health outcomes while delivering shorter trial startups and faster recruitment'.

IQVIA has more than 55,000 employees and conducts operations in more than 100 countries. The firm is online at www.iqvia.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.