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GfK Focuses HealthCare Business
GfK has announced this week that it has sold its 50% stake in IHA-IMS Health, Switzerland, and at the same time has increased its participation in GPI Kommunikationsforschung, Germany, to 100%.
With these moves GFK continues to focus its activities in the healthcare sector. The positive net effect for the income from participations of GfK Group in 2005 will amount to roughly Euro 22 million.
IHA-IMS Health provides services to the healthcare industry in the areas of market research, sales research and customer relationship management. The company has a staff of 70 people. The portfolio of services provided by the company includes turnover and sales information on pharmacies and medical practices with their own dispensaries, together with various indices on the Swiss pharmaceutical market.
GPI Kommunikationsforschung, now a 100% GfK subsidiary covers two business areas: Communication Research and Self-Medication. In the first of these two areas, communication activities by the pharmaceutical industry for prescription medicines is researched, and advertising statistics, advertising documentation, tracking and special studies are provided. In the second area, Self-Medication researches the market of medicines available without a prescription and also other health preparations. The main emphasis of its activities has been on advertising statistics, advertising documentation, and special studies, including researching consumer behaviour, using the medic*scope(r) customer behaviour survey.
In the past two years, the GfK Group has already invested heavily in expanding its HealthCare business. This included the acquisition of 51% of V2 GfK in 2003 through which GfK achieved a leading market position with regard to customised research in the US healthcare sector.
GfK's home page is at www.gfk.com
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